Monthly Report

Deutsche Equity Income Trust PLC
13 May 2003

                          Deutsche Equity Income Trust

                       REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2003



MARKET BACKGROUND

Following a quick resolution to the Iraqi war, the UK equity market rallied
strongly during the month with the FTSE All-Share Index rising by 9.0% in
capital terms. Our net asset value per share rose by 9.2% and the share price
rose by 6.6% over the same period as the shares moved from a 2.3% premium to a
0.2% discount.

In contrast to last month, smaller companies outperformed, with the FTSE Small
Cap Index rising by 11.3%, the FTSE Mid 250 Index rising by 10.9% and the FTSE
100 Index rising by 8.7% in capital terms. However, it was generally a difficult
month for equity income funds, with the FTSE 350 Higher Yield Index
underperforming the Lower Yield Index by 4.2% in capital terms, mainly due to
the underperformance from Mining and Oil & Gas stocks which make up a large
proportion of the Higher Yield Index.

The best performing sectors over the month were the 'cyclical' areas of Steel &
Other Metals, IT Hardware and Life Assurance, although it should be noted that
the big sectors of Banks and Pharmaceuticals also outperformed. Apart from
Mining and Oil & Gas stocks, the worst performing sectors were the 'defensive'
areas of Tobacco, Real Estate, Electricity and Food Producers.

Major transactions during the period included a switch out of Royal Dutch into
Shell Transport and adding to existing holdings in both HSBC and Standard
Chartered. Holdings were significantly reduced in HBOS and sold in Prudential,
Alliance & Leicester and Hanson.

OUTLOOK

Despite the US-led coalition's success in Iraq, the threat of global terrorism
remains. In addition, following the sharp rally in equity markets, the dividend
yield on the UK equity market has fallen to just over 3.5%. This is below the
yield available from cash but, as we expect interest rates to fall later in the
year and dividend cover (both on an earnings and cash flow basis) appears to be
improving, this still looks attractive for the longer-term investor.

We continue to construct the portfolio using the most attractive stocks in each
sector. Our principal tool to analyse and value companies remains cash flow
return on investment (CFROI) rather than earnings per share, and we also use
cash flow to predict the sustainability of dividends. This is important given
our commitment to achieve a respectable level of income for shareholders and we
are confident that this investment philosophy will continue to reward
shareholders over the longer term.






                                                                                        30/04/03                31/03/03

NET ASSET VALUE                                                                           195.4p                  178.9p

MID-MARKET SHARE PRICE                                                                  30/04/03                31/03/03
Ordinary Shares                                                                           195.0p                  183.0p
Dividend Yield (%)                                                                           3.9                     4.2

LARGEST HOLDINGS (market value £55.2 million equal to 71.1% of total portfolio)

                                                                                         £'000's     % of portfolio
HSBC Holdings                                                                              6,075           7.8

GlaxoSmithKline                                                                            5,625           7.2

BP                                                                                         5,055           6.5

Royal Bank of Scotland                                                                     4,379           5.6

AstraZeneca                                                                                3,771           4.9

Shell Transport and Trading                                                                3,297           4.3

Vodafone Group                                                                             2,449           3.2

Scottish & Southern Energy                                                                 2,160           2.8

BT Group                                                                                   1,841           2.4

Lloyds TSB                                                                                 1,508           1.9

Barclays                                                                                   1,494           1.9

Tate & Lyle                                                                                1,448           1.9

SIG                                                                                        1,434           1.8

Debenhams                                                                                  1,428           1.8

Standard Chartered                                                                         1,401           1.8

BPB                                                                                        1,324           1.7

Viridian Group                                                                             1,262           1.6

Provident                                                                                  1,231           1.6

GUS                                                                                        1,226           1.6

National Grid Transco                                                                      1,209           1.6

Imperial Tobacco                                                                           1,204           1.6

Legal & General                                                                            1,200           1.5

Senior                                                                                     1,099           1.4

MMO2 7.625% 25/1/2012                                                                      1,089           1.4

Morrison (W) Supermarket                                                                     985           1.3
FINNCIAL CALENDAR

Interim results announced                                            21 May 2003



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 Plan (a plan 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: [e-mail]. Further details of Deutsche Equity Income
Trust including the latest annual, interim and monthly reports can be found on
the Deutsche Investment Trust Managers 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, the price of shares
and the income from them may 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