(Corrects paragraph 3 to say profit decreased not increased)
Sept 24 (Reuters) - British investment bank Panmure Gordon &Co Plc's first-half profit fell 84 percent, hit byadministrative costs associated with a restructuring program itundertook last year.
The 137-year-old bank, which advises over 110 London-listedcompanies ranging from FTSE-100s to small caps, said it expectedpre-bonus operating costs to be lower in the second half of theyear after the effects of its restructuring programme kickin.
Pretax profit from continuing operations decreased to335,000 pounds ($537,100) in the six months ended June from 2.04million pounds a year earlier.
The Bank's net commission and fee income rose 16 percent to13 million pounds, but could not offset a near 40 percent risein administrative expenses.
"Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain challenging.However, we have an encouraging pipeline of corporatetransactions," said Chief Executive Phillip Wale. ($1 = 0.6237 British pounds) (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by SupriyaKurane)