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One of the world's leading mobile-phone operators posted positive results today, a positive signal for jittery investors who have been concerned about performance in the mobile wireless market.

U.K.-based Vodafone reported higher-than-expected margins in the first half of the year, a result that was surprising to analysts considering the high volume of customers the carrier added in Germany. Financial markets had feared the company's rapid growth would compromise growth margins since the cost of acquiring a customer is high.

But Vodafone posted a 24% increase in EBITDA to $4.71 billion and reached pre-tax profits of $2.6 billion. Total customers increased 55 percent to 65.5 million. Vodafone's shares jumped 8.5 percent to $37.38 following the earnings report. Other wireless-related companies surged on the news as well.

Vodafone Chief Executive Chris Gent told analysts today that although customer growth rates are likely to slow as Vodafone hits higher penetration levels, he said he believed Vodafone could continue to grow profits through the demand for wireless data services. Vodafone's network in the U.K. carried 160 million text messages in September alone, he said.

Vodafone said the cost of acquiring customers hurt profit margins in Germany and the U.K. Margins in the German business, where Vodafone added 5.4 million customers in the first six months of the year, fell 30 percent. Gent said new customers would begin contributing to profits in the second half.

The company also said mobile data adoption rates and usage are in line with its projections. Japan is an early indicator of adoption, said Vodafone. Twenty-five percent of J-Phone's 9 million subscribers are connected to the J-Sky Internet portal. Mobile Internet revenues nearly matched short messaging service revenues Vodafone is seeing in its other markets. Vodafone believes that up to 25% of revenues will come from data services by 2004.