A solid stock offering quality and yield

If you're after a high quality stock with a decent yield, they don't come much better than this healthcare firm, says Paul Hill.

There are plenty of solid stocks to choose from if you are after quality and a decent yield. One is Smith & Nephew. In May the orthopedics firm reported a better-than-expected 5% rise in first-quarter trading profits. That was thanks to a $150m restructuring undertaken by the CEO Olivier Bohuon.

Sales of replacement knees were up 6% as customers bought its Verilast implants, guaranteed to last for 30 years. Devices for athletic injuries, such as torn ligaments, climbed 7% and are expected to be further boosted by the London Olympics as more people take up sports.

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Paul gained a degree in electrical engineering and went on to qualify as a chartered management accountant. He has extensive corporate finance and investment experience and is a member of the Securities Institute.

Over the past 16 years Paul has held top-level financial management and M&A roles for blue-chip companies such as O2, GKN and Unilever. He is now director of his own capital investment and consultancy firm, PMH Capital Limited.

Paul is an expert at analysing companies in new, fast-growing markets, and is an extremely shrewd stock-picker.