Verizon Communications has dashed the hopes of Vodafone investors by ruling out a return to a recurring dividend from the two companies' mobile phone joint venture, called Verizon Wireless, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

In an interview with the newspaper on Monday, Lowell McAdam, new CEO of Verizon Communications, said it was not possible to have a policy of annual dividend payment by Verizon Wireless because the leading U.S. mobile operator may need to buy rival businesses or purchase radio spectrum.

McAdam said Verizon Communications, the U.S. telecoms company, and Vodafone, the UK mobile group, were working closely together on several other unspecified projects.

He also told the FT that it would be wrong to rule out the possibility of Verizon Communications and Vodafone merging in the future, although he suggested it would not happen in the short to medium term.

Reuters could not immediately reach Verizon Communications or Vodafone for comment.

(Reporting by Stephen Mangan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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