Monthly Report

Deutsche Equity Income Trust PLC 08 October 2002 Deutsche Equity Income Trust REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2002 MARKET BACKGROUND The UK equity market as measured by the FTSE All-Share index fell by a disappointing 12.0% in capital terms over the month. Our net asset value per share fell by 10.6% but the share price fell by 12.5% over the same period as the premium to net asset value fell from 3.1% to 1.0%. The market was weak across the board, with the FTSE 100 index down 12.0%, the FTSE 250 index down 11.8% and the FTSE Small Cap index down 12.7% in capital terms. Market conditions were generally poor for equity income funds, with the FTSE 350 Higher Yield index underperforming the FTSE 350 Lower Yield index by 2.6% in capital terms over the month. The best performing sectors over the month were generally defensive: Pharmaceuticals made small positive returns following recent weakness, and Personal Care and Beverages were broadly flat; General Retailers and Food Retailers also performed relatively well. The worst performing sectors over the month were Steels (due to concerns about Corus's planned merger with a Brazilian operator), Life Assurance (due to weak equity markets putting further pressure on stretched balance sheets and a surprise rights issue from Legal & General) and Software. The Aerospace & Defence sector also performed poorly following poor interim results from BAe Systems. Our purchases included adding to existing holdings in SIG, Shell, Canary Wharf and Tate & Lyle as well as establishing a new position in Northern Foods. Holdings were sold in Smith & Nephew and reduced in Lattice, Centrica, Morrison and Forth Ports following strong outperformance. OUTLOOK Investor sentiment is currently at very depressed levels and we continue to be cautiously optimistic of a recovery in the UK equity market from current low levels. However, a quick resolution to the unstable geopolitical situation looks unlikely and corporate newsflow continues to be disappointing. Our investment philosophy remains unchanged: we use cash flow return on investment (CFROI) rather than earnings per share as the principal tool to analyse and value companies, and construct the portfolio using the most attractive stocks in each sector. Combined with our commitment to achieve a respectable level of income, we are confident that this philosophy will continue to reward shareholders over the longer term. 30/09/02 31/08/02 NET ASSET VALUE 187.7p 209.9p MID-MARKET SHARE PRICE 30/09/02 31/08/02 Ordinary Shares 189.5p 216.5p Dividend Yield (%) 4.0 3.5 LARGEST HOLDINGS (market value £49.3 million equal to 66.1% of total portfolio) £'000's % of portfolio BP 5,905 7.9 GlaxoSmithKline 5,789 7.8 HSBC Holdings 4,452 6.0 Royal Bank of Scotland 3,161 4.2 AstraZeneca 2,992 4.0 Shell Transport & Trading 2,545 3.4 Barclays 1,964 2.6 HBOS 1,944 2.6 Imperial Tobacco 1,677 2.2 Vodafone Group 1,616 2.2 Tate & Lyle 1,586 2.1 Forth Ports 1,451 1.9 BT Group 1,336 1.8 Centrica 1,294 1.7 Scottish & Southern Energy 1,249 1.7 Canary Wharf Group 1,166 1.6 Morrison(W)Supermarket 1,137 1.5 Lloyds TSB 1,130 1.5 Lattice Group 1,123 1.5 Legal & General 1,026 1.4 Viridian Group 1,013 1.4 GUS 993 1.3 MM02 7.625% 25/1/2012 940 1.3 Prudential 933 1.3 Bunzl 901 1.2 FINANCIAL CALENDAR 25 October 2002 Year-end results announced For further information, contact Graham Ashby at Deutsche Asset Management on 020-7545-6000. For additional copies, changes of address or details of our Private Investors' Plan, low cost ISA and Dividend Reinvestment Scheme (a recently established scheme through which shareholders, who hold their shares on the Company's main register, can use their dividends to purchase further shares) contact Mark Pope on 020-7545-0520, e-mail address: mark.pope@db.com. Further details of Deutsche Equity Income Trust including the latest annual, interim and monthly reports can be found on the Deutsche Asset Management website located at www.deutsche-its.co.uk. Issued by Deutsche Equity Income Trust PLC and approved by Deutsche Investment Trust Managers Limited, regulated by the Financial Services Authority and manager of Deutsche Equity Income Trust PLC. Investors should be aware that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future returns, values can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount they invested. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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