Chip maker Qualcomm Inc. posted a 5.5 percent increase in its fiscal second-quarter profits Wednesday and _ unlike other wireless industry heavyweights _ gave a modestly upbeat assessment of its prospects for the next three months and the rest of the year.

The company’s profit and revenue topped Wall Street’s expectations in the second quarter, and its revenue projections were largely rosier than analysts expected.

Qualcomm is benefiting from strong sales of high-end mobile phones that surf the Internet and offer speedier downloads of music and video.

The company earned $766 million, or 47 cents a share, during a three-month period ending March 30, up from $726 million, or 43 cents a share, the same period a year earlier. The latest period includes charges of 5 cents a share for stock-based compensation and a loss of 2 cents a share for its strategic investment unit.

Excluding those charges, Qualcomm earned 54 cents a share, above an average estimate of 52 cents a share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose 17.3 percent to $2.61 billion from $2.22 billion in the same period last year, above the average analyst estimate of $2.5 billion.

Qualcomm’s optimistic outlook came two days after rival Texas Instruments Inc. gave a tepid forecast for its current quarter, blaming weak demand for chips used in high-end mobile phones. Nokia Corp., the world’s largest mobile handset maker, said last week that the value of the handset market would fall in euro terms this year, a result of a weaker dollar, sluggish U.S. economy and potential economic slowdown in Europe.

Qualcomm has less exposure in Europe than its rivals, which shields it from economic ills there, said Mark McKechnie, a securities analyst at American Technology Research in San Francisco.

And a weak U.S. currency helps Qualcomm because sales outside the U.S. translate into more dollars, while Nokia doesn’t benefit from that phenomenon because it reports results in euros, McKechnie said.

Qualcomm, based in San Diego, has had its biggest success in the U.S., through carriers including Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., and in Asia.

For its third quarter, Qualcomm predicted a profit of between 50 and 52 cents a share, compared to analyst estimates of 51 cents a share, excluding charges for stock-based compensation and its strategic investment unit.

Qualcomm predicted third-quarter revenue of between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion, above the average analyst estimate of $2.47 billion.

For the fiscal year, Qualcomm raised its profit estimate to between $2.04 and $2.09 a share from $2.01 to $2.07 a share, excluding certain charges. Analysts were expecting $2.09 a share.

The company also raised its annual revenue forecast by $400 million to between $10 billion and $10.4 billion. Analysts were expecting $9.94 billion.

Qualcomm shares rose 0.8 percent, or 34 cents, to $41.89 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then surrendered 39 cents after hours.

Qualcomm makes chips for mobile phones and licenses its patented technologies to other companies. It makes much of its money from royalty payments, which has led to fierce legal battles with rivals who say Qualcomm is overpaid.