abrdn Equity Income Trust plc

Annual Report 30 September 2023

Equity income using an index-agnostic approach focusing on our best ideas from the full UK market cap spectrum.

abrdnequityincome.com

abrdn Equity Income Trust plc is an "AIC Dividend Hero" -_it has increased its dividend for 23 years in a row. | | |

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"The Company has both issued and bought back shares in the last 12 months, which is reflective of the significant rerating of the share price relative to the NAV."

Sarika Patel, Chair

"We have retained our focus on income, providing shareholders with a high level of dividend yield through a portfolio of attractively valued UK-listed stocks from across the UK market."

Thomas Moore, Portfolio Manager

Scan the QR Code above to register for email alerts relating to the Company.

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Performance Highlights

Net asset value total return per Ordinary shareª Year ended 30 September 2023 +1.8% Year ended 30 September 2022	-7.6%	Share price total return per Ordinary share" Year ended 30 September 2023 +11.4% Year ended 30 September 2022	-7.8%
Revenue return per Ordinary share Year ended 30 September 2023 23.43p Year ended 30 September 2022	25.51p	Discount to net asset valueA As at 30 September 2023 0.2% As at 30 September 2022	8.8%
Dividend per Ordinary share Year ended 30 September 2023 22.80p Year ended 30 September 2022 A Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 90 to 92.	22.70p	Ongoing charges ratioA Year ended 30 September 2023 0.94% Year ended 30 September 2022	0.91%

Net asset value per Ordinary share

At 30 September- pence

Dividends per share

For the year to 30 September - pence

Share price

At 30 September- pence

Overview

Strategic Report

Governance

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Chair's Statement

lt is a great pleasure to present a full year report to you for the first time as Chair, having assumed the role at the Annual General Meeting in February 2023, following the retirement of Mark White.

While the Company's Net Asset Value ("NAV") made progress in the first quarter of the financial year, calendar 2023 has proved to be more challenging. The combination of political and financial turmoil, 40 year-high inflation and rising interest rates have made for a difficult backdrop for small and mid-cap companies, especially those with a focus on the domestic UK economy. The key highlights for the financial year to 30 September 2023 are:

· A 23rd consecutive year of dividend growth. The dividend for the year is, once again, covered by earnings.
· A sharp and sustained closing of the discount from around 10% this time last year to around par today. Although the Company bought back shares at the beginning of the year, the Company has been trading at a premium during the year and has issued shares in order to meet the excess demand.
· A material increase in the proportion of the Company's shares held by execution-only platforms (such as interactive investor and Hargreaves Lansdown), who typically act on behalf of private shareholders. In the year under review, the ten largest buyers of the Company's shares were all platforms and those ten large buyers now collectively own over 65% of the Company's shares on behalf of their various customers. This reaffirms the Board's view that there remains demand for income mandates from private investors.

Please see page 18 for the Company's performance against its Key Performance Indicators.

Earnings

Gross income generated by the Company's investments in the financial year to 30 September 2023 was £12.6 million (2022: £13.5 million). The costs of managing the portfolio, including administration costs, were down 7.3%, largely driven by management fees being down almost 10%. At the same time, interest costs attributable to the revenue account were up from £149,000 to £401,000, reflecting the increase in the cost of debt, as interest rates have risen. After tax, the income of the Company was £11.1 million, down from £12.2 million last year.

This resulted in the Company's earnings per share being 23.43 pence, which was 8.2% lower than last year. Despite this decline, the dividend for the year is covered by the earnings once again.

Our Portfolio Manager is focused on delivering increased earnings in order to extend the 23-year track record of dividend growth, which we intend to be covered by the revenue earnings in the financial year. Please see the Portfolio Manager's Review on pages 10 to 14 for more detail on the sources of the performance and income.

Dividends

As a result of the earnings performance the Board is declaring a fourth interim dividend for 2023 of 5.7 pence per share which will be paid on 8 January 2024 to shareholders on the Register on 8 December 2023 with an associated ex-dividend date of 7 December 2023. This takes the total dividend for the year to 22.80 pence per share, and the 23rd consecutive annual dividend increase declared by the Company. At the time of writing, the Company is trading on a yield of 7.6%, among the highest in the AIC UK Equity Income sector. In setting the level of the fourth interim dividend the Board balanced the desire to ensure that the dividend continues to grow and that revenue reserves were replenished.

After payment of the fourth interim dividend, and based on current shares in issue, 0.56 pence per share will be transferred to revenue reserves which will be increased to 15.61 pence per share.

The Board is committed to maintaining and extending its track record of dividend growth. We therefore expect that, in the absence of any adverse circumstances, in the coming financial year we will extend our track record to 24 consecutive years of dividend growth by paying a dividend of at least 22.90 pence per share. We believe that we are in a position to do this because we are confident that the portfolio should deliver net earnings that will cover this cost except for unforeseen circumstances. We expect that the first three interim dividends will be 5.7 pence per share, payable in March, June and September and the fourth interim will be at least 5.8 pence per share payable in January. Once again, we have tasked the Portfolio Manager with delivering net revenue earnings to be able to cover this level of distribution.

Results

On a more disappointing note, the NAV total return of the Company for the financial year to 30 September 2023 was 1.8% (2022: -7.6%) and the share price total return was 11.4% (2022: -7.8%). The FTSE All-Share Index delivered a total return of 13.8% (2022: -4.0%) over the same period. More detailed information on capital performance can be found in the Portfolio Manager's Review and generally relate to the continued outperformance of large-cap stocks which only comprise 52.6% of our portfolio. Whilst UK equity markets remain undervalued, there is an opportunity for re-rating that recognises the underlying value of our portfolio. The Board remains focused on improving performance and growing the dividend.

Premium & Discount

The Company share price started the year trading on a discount of 8.8% and closed the year on a discount of 0.2%. The Board was pleased to note the market's positive reaction to the announcement of the full year results in December 2022. The day before the results were announced the Company's share price was trading on a discount of around 10%; within a week the share price was trading at around par. Crucially, the rerating of the Company's share price has been maintained.

This meant that the Company has moved from buying back shares in the first two months of the financial year , to re-issuing shares from treasury. In October 2022 and November 2022, the Company bought back 100,417 Ordinary shares or 0.21% of the opening issued share capital in the year at a weighted discount of 10.1%.

In August 2023 the Company issued 275,000 shares in the market, from treasury, for the first time since January 2016 at a weighted premium of 1.1%. The Board will only issue shares when it considers that the premium is sustained and sufficient to ensure that, net of commission and reasonable market movements, the issuance will be NAV accretive to existing shareholders. We are very pleased that we are in a position to continue to issue shares and over the year, the net number of shares in issue increased by 174,583 with a value of just over £547,000. We hope to be able to continue to grow the Company in this way. Since the year end, the Company has issued a further 135,000 shares from treasury.

Through its buy back and issuance approach, the Board aims to try to reduce any volatility in the discount and indeed in the premium to ensure that shareholders have, as far as possible, confidence that the share price will broadly reflect the value of the underlying assets.

Loan refinancing

During the financial year, the Company renewed its £30 million revolving credit facility with the Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited for three years, expiring in June 2026 ("the Facility"). £21 million was drawn down at the year-end (2022: £25 million). Under the terms of the Facility, the Company also has the option to increase the level of the commitment from £30 million to £40 million at any time, subject to the Lender's credit approval. The Board and Manager are very aware of the impact of the increase in the cost of borrowing as a result of rising interest rates. The Board considers the impact of these increased costs versus the financial benefit of gearing the portfolio. The Board continues to believe in the long-term benefits of gearing, one of the tools available to closedend investment companies.

Management Agreement

The management fee structure that prevailed during the year was introduced in 2019 and during the year the Board undertook a review of the agreement and concluded that it was no longer competitive when compared to other similar investment trusts in the sector. Accordingly, the Board negotiated a revision to the fee structure with the Manager. The new agreement does away with the tiered fee structure of 0.65% on the first £175 million of net assts and replaces it with a flat fee of 0.55% on net assets and took effect on 1 October 2023. Based on the net assets at the year end of £149.9 million, the change represents a reduction in the fee of 15.4%. The Board considers that this makes the fee structure more competitive when compared to the other similar investment trusts in the sector.

Chair's Statement

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Annual General Meeting ("AGM")

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Revenue Account

Dividends distributed by our holdings in the period under review came in at £12.6 million, compared to the £13.5 million received last year, representing a reduction of 7.2%. This was largely caused by a sharp decline in the contribution from special dividends to £186,000 (from £800,000 in 2022). Excluding all special dividends from the calculation, to provide a clearer view of the underlying change in dividends, the reduction was 2.8%. The decline in special dividends reflects the tendency of management teams to favour share buybacks over special dividends, often because they deem their valuation to be unfairly cheap. We note that 29 of our holdings - over half the portfolio - performed share buybacks during the financial year, underlining the intrinsic valuation attractions of the portfolio.

Net revenue was £11.1 million. Management fees were 9.9% lower and total expenditure before interest and tax was 7.7% lower than last year.

We are forecasting that the portfolio is currently delivering a gross dividend yield, before costs, of 7.6% based on the income expected to be generated by the portfolio over the financial year divided by the portfolio value at the year end, representing a significant premium to the dividend yield of the Index of 4.0% as at 30 September 2023.

During the financial year we focused on achieving the Board's priority of delivering sufficient income to cover the dividend. We achieved this for a second year, although the market backdrop of a decelerating global economy, rising interest rates and geopolitical conflict made this a more challenging task than it was the previous financial year. The largest variation in portfolio income during the year was caused by the reduction in commodity prices, affecting some of our Energy and Mining holdings. The UK equity market has, in recent years, seen a concentration of dividends among a relatively small number of sectors due to a succession of macro shocks, specifically Covidrelated dividend cuts, followed by Ukraine-related commodity price surge and economic slowdown linked to higher interest rates. Our portfolio was not immune from this increase in dividend concentration.

Having rebuilt dividend coverage since the Covid trough, we have turned our attention to taking portfolio action that will simultaneously enhance the portfolio's income prospects and diversify the portfolio's income generation across a broader range of stocks and sectors. We would expect this process to be assisted by a broadening in dividend payments across the UK market, especially once macro uncertainty eases sufficiently to encourage management teams to distribute surplus cash in the form of dividends.

Taking a step back, we are encouraged by the progress in our revenue account in the two years since the height of Covid. While share prices may continue to swing around on changing sentiment in relation to these macro drivers, we remain confident that the focus of our investment approach on delivery of cash flows and dividends remains the right one. For the wider UK equity market as a whole, dividend cover of 2.2x (on a 12 month forward basis) suggests some cushion should macro conditions remain tough. We continue to find many examples of stocks whose cash flow and dividend potential is not effectively priced in by the market. This provides us with the opportunity to buy well-managed businesses with sound dividend prospects at low valuations, helping to support our confidence in the continued progression of our dividend per share in the financial year to 30 September 2024.

Portfolio Performance

The Company's net asset value ("NAV") total return was 1.8% for the period.

This return was lower than that of the Company's Reference Index as the return of the index masked some sharp variations in performance within the UK equity market, reflecting an underlying nervousness that persisted throughout most of the period.

In summary, our NAV lagged the index for two key reasons.

First, market conditions were not supportive for the Fund's positioning. The outperformance of a narrow range of large-cap stocks, linked to the strong US dollar and ongoing investor de-allocations from domestic UK stocks, was a key feature of the stock market during the period. This dragged on performance given the portfolio's heavy weighting in small and mid-cap stocks, itself a function of the index-agnostic approach that we use in constructing the portfolio. Our portfolio's exposure to the FTSE 100 Index was 52.6% at the end of the period, whereas the FTSE 100 Index represented 84.4% of the total value of the FTSF All-Share Index.

Portfolio Manager's Review

Continued

Second, the portfolio suffered from some companyspecific disappointments, mainly linked to the impact of falling commodity prices on some of our Energy holdings and the impact of higher interest rates on activity levels in some of our Financials and Consumer holdings.

Turning to specific stocks, the key drivers of our performance over the period are as follows:

Our Energy exposure detracted from performance at a time of falling energy prices due to a rebuilding in gas storage levels and reduced demand due to unseasonably mild winter weather. The weakest performers were Thungela Resources and Diversified Energy which reversed the gains they had made in the previous financial year. Both companies remain highly cash generative even at lower energy prices, providing significant portfolio income. Despite the benefit of our large holding in BP, this sector detracted around 4% of relative performance.
Within Financials, performance was hit by our . holdings in CMC Markets, OSB Group and Vanquis, all of which struggled in an environment of rising interest rates, resulting in profit warnings. These negatives were only partially offset by contributions from International Personal Finance, Litigation Capital Management and Conduit, all of which delivered better than expected results. Overall, this sector detracted around 5% of relative performance.
Performance was varied within Consumer and Industrial sectors. Better than expected results from housebuilder Vistry and construction business Galliford Try and Tyman. The portfolio also benefited from its underweight in Consumer Staples, in particular not owning Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser, although this was offset by weak performance of Imperial Brands on concerns over the imposition of new tobacco restrictions. In aggregate, these sectors were neutral for performance.
The gearing position mildly detracted from performance as the interest rate on the gearing exceeded the portfolio return. We continue to believe that the gearing facility is in the best interests of shareholders given the benefit to the revenue account as the dividend yield of the portfolio still exceeds the interest rate being paid on the facility, as well as the potential benefit to the capital account over time.

Activity

Purchases

During a period of rapidly changing expectations over the path for inflation and interest rates, we have applied our investment process to position the portfolio in stocks where we see the greatest potential to deliver income and capital growth. Our experience is that stock-level opportunities can become most abundant during times of volatile macro, as investors focus on economic data, rather than corporate fundamentals.

Our largest purchase during the period was HSBC where we see rapid improvement in profitability thanks to the benefit of higher base rates, as well as the re-opening of the China/Hong Kong border. The business appears well prepared for a tough economic backdrop, with management running a high level of deposits and taking a cautious approach to lending. This sets the stock up to deliver attractive dividends, while also providing capital growth potential given the attractive returns being generated.

We added to our holding in National Grid which we see as well positioned to deliver the grid expansion necessary for the transition to electric vehicles. In the UK, National Grid benefits from inflation-linked contracts. The stock has fallen sharply due to its correlation with government bonds, providing us with an opportunity to add to our holding, with clear portfolio income benefits given the high yield.

We bought a new holding in Ithaca Energy, whose huge cash generation is supporting extremely attractive dividends, with around one fifth of the company's market cap being paid back to shareholders in the form of dividends in its first full year of listing. We expect Ithaca's heavy investment in the North Sea to provide it with significant up-front tax breaks, helping to mitigate the impact of the Energy Profits Levy.

Among smaller cap stocks, we bought a new holding in Vanquis where we expect the new CEO to take rapid action to improve returns by managing loan growth and costs. The stock's very low valuation - around 0.5x book value - appears to reflect historic execution issues, rather than its forward-looking earnings potential. We also added to our holding in Conduit which appears set to benefit from a hardening reinsurance market, supporting our confidence in management's ability to achieve the returns targets it set out at its IPO in 2020.

Please see the case studies on pages 38 and 39 for examples of our engagement with investee companies which begins prior to purchase.

Sales

We reduced some of our Resources holdings, attempting to manage the trade-off between portfolio income and risk, after strong performance linked to the surge in energy prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We took some profits in BP and Shell, our two largest holdings, managing down their position sizes. We also trimmed our weightings in Rio Tinto and BHP where weakness in the Chinese real estate sector created a difficult backdrop for their main commodity, iron ore.

This was another busy year of M&A for the portfolio. Following bid announcements, we sold our holdings in DWF and Industrials REIT, both of which received offers from private equity at a sizeable premium. We see this M&A activity as a sign of the intrinsic value in this portfolio.

We also took action to sell some of the lower yielding stocks in the portfolio, including Coca-Cola Hellenic, Mondi and Playtech, seeing more attractive income opportunities elsewhere in the UK market.

Outlook

The narrowness of market returns, both in the UK and globally, was the most striking feature of the period under review. In a large number of the world's stock markets, index performance has been led by a small number of very large cap stocks. Most notable is the US market, where the "Magnificent Seven", the group of headlinegrabbing technology companies, including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla are worth more than \$11 trillion (greater than the combined market capitalisation of the Japanese, UK and German stock markets). The UK has seen a similar, if less pronounced, shift towards large cap stocks, for two key reasons. First, concerns about the risk of a global recession have driven investors towards the largest, most liquid internationally-focused stocks in each sector, at the expense of small and mid-cap domesticallyorientated stocks. Second, UK equity funds have suffered a prolonged period of outflows, as investors sell down UK equities in favour of other asset classes. This has created a circularity in which negative share price momentum has fuelled the perception that the UK is an unattractive market, causing a reduction in liquidity and depressed valuations. In some cases, low valuations have triggered bids for UK companies, resulting in a shrinking number of companies listed on the UK market. According to Peel Hunt, the number of companies (ex-investment trusts) listed on FTSE has fallen from 504 in 2013 to 412 in 2023.

For those companies that remain listed, there is often a frustration that their long-term prospects are not reflected in their valuations, driving a sharp pick-up in buyback announcements.

Against this backdrop, we have retained our focus on income, providing shareholders with a high level of dividend yield through a portfolio of attractively valued UK-listed stocks from across the UK market. We have constructed the portfolio across 3 key baskets of stocks. Each of these baskets provides different characteristics that should perform at different points in the cycle and help the portfolio to achieve each aspect of our investment objective.

1. Dividend growth stocks that are well positioned to grow their cash flows and dividends, supported by corporate fundamentals that make them resilient in an inflationary environment. Examples include Shell and National Grid. Objective: achieve real growth in income.
1. fundamentals are more solid than the market perceives, enabling their dividends to be paid, contrary to market expectations. Examples include BHP and Diversified Energy. Objective: achieve above average income and deliver capital growth as the yield normalises.
1. Unrecognised change stocks with operational change that is overlooked by the market. Earnings growth and valuation re-rating can work together powerfully to drive share price. Examples include Conduit and Hargreaves Lansdown. Objective: achieve real growth in capital as companies deliver earnings growth and valuations normalise.

Our focus on valuation is a key aspect of our investment process. We believe that the importance of valuation can come to life when managing an income portfolio. A simplified way of visualising the valuation attractions of an income stock is to consider the stream of dividends it is set to pay in relation to its share price. This can provide some perspective on what is being priced in, allowing a judgement to be made on whether the stock is attractively valued. For example, in its latest financial year Rio Tinto paid out 407p/share in dividends versus its year-end share price of 5174p, which equates to a dividend yield of over 7.8%. The market is clearly pricing in a rapid fade in dividend payouts, despite Rio Tinto owning high quality mines that will endure for decades. In another example, Thungela Resources, we made back our original investment in dividends within two years of purchase.

Portfolio Manager's Review

Continued

If you also include share buybacks, in addition to dividends, to calculate a stock's overall distribution yield, then it becomes even clearer how rapid the payback period can be. At the pace of share buybacks being made by some of our holdings, the entire share capital would have been retired by the mid-2030s. Of course, there are always risks to every business that could erode profitability, de-railing dividend or buyback plans. We consider these risks when making a judgement on each stock we analyse, assessing what level of cash flow is likely to be sustainable in the context of the competitive position of each business. We discuss with management teams what percentage of those cash flows they expect to pay out in the form of dividends and/or buybacks. At the time of writing, the median free cash flow yield in the portfolio is 9.9%. All of this increases our understanding of the dividend prospects of the portfolio, strengthening our confidence in our ability to maintain a growing dividend per share to our shareholders.

Historically dividends have tended to represent a very high proportion of total return (Goldman Sachs calculate 65% over a rolling 20 year period in UK equities). We expect that, in a world of higher interest rates, investors should logically be more attracted to value stocks that pay out dividends now, rather than growth stocks that promise returns in the future. Higher discount rates make future cash flows worth less, when discounted back. We believe that this will drive an adjustment in the market's perception of the attractions of value stocks versus growth stocks. The market is slowly acknowledging that interest rates are unlikely to go back to the extremely low levels seen during the 2010s. This should challenge the view that market leadership can revert to the quality growth stocks that led the stock market during that decade. As this becomes more widely recognised by investors, we would expect it to help catalyse a valuation re-rating of the cash generative stocks that we own in the portfolio. At the time of writing, the portfolio has a median Price/Earnings ratio of 9.0x and a median Price/Book ratio of 1.0x which compares favourably with 11.8x and 1.6x respectively for the FTSE All-Share ex Investment Trusts lndex despite returns that are in line with the wider market (median Return on Equity of 11.7%).

In conclusion, our investment approach provides us with the flexibility to invest across the UK market to build a portfolio that is delivering a high yield and a growing dividend, while offering the potential to deliver NAV growth as earnings growth picks up and valuations re-rate. In the short term, the frustration is that subdued economic growth is causing a period of low activity levels across a range of sectors. Coupled with ongoing asset allocation shifts away from UK equities, this has so far inhibited a valuation re-rating in our holdings, thereby holding back our NAV/share. However, we are confident that this will change in time, as companies are rewarded for using this period to set their house in order, taking actions to improve profitability, while distributing capital via dividends and buybacks. We see the Company's high yield as a function of the unusual level of opportunities available at this time, and we therefore look forward to the coming year with confidence.

Thomas Moore Portfolio Manager 29 November 2023

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Overview of Strategy

Continued

Our Manager's Approach to ESG

There is a broad understanding on the Board that a full and thorough assessment of environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors will allow for better investment decisions to be made, which will lead to better outcomes for the Company's shareholders. ESG factors are considered alongside financial and other fundamental factors in order to make the best possible investment decisions at a stock picking and at a portfolio construction level.

Although ESG factors are not the over-riding criteria in relation to the investment decisions taken by our Portfolio Manager and the Company does not specifically exclude any sectors from its investment universe, the Board encourages the Portfolio Manager to ensure that ESG considerations are inextricably embedded into the investment process in order to achieve successful and sustainable performance for the Company over the long term.

By taking account of ESG factors, the Board believes that the Portfolio Manager has a more complete view of a company, including its risks and opportunities. The analysts supporting the Portfolio Manager seek to determine which ESG factors are financially material to form a forward-looking view of how a business will manage risks and capture opportunities. The analysts focus on what they deem to be the most material ESG factors to understand their impact on a company's future business performance, financial position, and / or market perception.

To advance this analysis on behalf of the Company's shareholders, the Portfolio Manager and his team have a very close relationship with the ESG specialists within abrdn and have an on-desk ESG analyst to assist in the research process and ESG engagements with companies. Through the utilisation of third party provided research including MSCI and abrdn's inhouse ESG rating tools the team is able to identify, where appropriate, leaders and laggards, areas of weakness and areas of strength.

It should be noted that as part of the investment process to identify attractive investment opportunities, the Portfolio Manager must consider a diverse range of companies, spanning a spectrum of maturity with respect to environmental and social sustainability practices. An important feature of the investment process is therefore active and meaningful engagement to generate insights into underlying ESG performance, with the Company's approach to engagement set out below.

In addition, for those investee companies at the relative beginning of their journey towards improved ESG performance or in higher-impact industries, the Portfolio Manager increasingly devotes attention to the robustness of companies' strategies to improve sustainability performance. This is particularly relevant for companies that must adopt credible transition strategies - an area of growing focus for the Portfolio Manager on behalf of the Company. For example, the portfolio holds a position in SSE, which is undergoing a major shift away from fossilfuel powered electricity generation to renewable energy, with the company now planning to increase its renewable capacity from 4GW in 2020/21 to 13GW by 2030/31.

Proactive company engagement

Our Manager believes that proactive company engagement ensures our holdings remain or become better companies.

See the Case Studies on pages 38 and 39 for specific examples of the Company's engagement with investee companies.

Our Manager's Approach to Engagement

Engagement is an important part of our Manager's investment process: our Manager sees engagement not only as a right but as an obligation of investors, in its role as owners of companies. Our Manager engages actively and regularly with companies in which it is or may become an investor.

Our Manager believes that informed and constructive engagement helps to foster better companies, enhancing the value of the Company's investments.

There are generally two core reasons for engagement: to understand more about a company's strategy and performance, or encourage best practice and drive change.

Active engagement involves regular, candid communication with management teams (or boards of directors) of portfolio companies to discuss a broad range of ESG issues that are material to sustainable long-term returns, either positively or negatively, including both risks and opportunities. Our Manager's focus is on the factors which it believes to have the greatest potential to enhance or undermine the Company's investment case. Sometimes the Manager seeks more information, exchanges views on specific issues, encourages better

disclosure; and at other times, encourages change (including either corporate strategy, capital allocation, or climate change strategy). On our behalf, the Manager's engagements cover a range of ESG issues, including but not limited to board composition, remuneration, audit, climate change, labour issues, human rights, bribery and corruption.

Promoting the Success of the Company

The Board's statement on pages 25 to 28 describes how the Directors have discharged their duties and responsibilities over the course of the financial year under section 172 (1) of the Companies Act 2006 and how they have promoted the success of the Company. That statement forms part of the Strategic Report.

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6WUDWHJ\ the Company's REMHFWLYHVRUWKHLQYHVWPHQW WUXVWVHFWRUDVDZKROH EHFRPHXQDWWUDFWLYHWR LQYHVWRUVOHDGLQJWRDIDOOLQ demand for the Company's VKDUHV		7KURXJKUHJXODUXSGDWHVIURPWKH0DQDJHUWKH%RDUGPRQLWRUVWKHUHOHYDQFHRIWKH Company's strategy, the performance of equity markets, the economic and political environment, risks to the delivery of the Company's strategy in light of the external HQYLURQPHQWDQGthe discount/ premium at which the Company's shares trade relative WRWKHQHWDVVHWYDOXH,WDOVRKROGVDQDQQXDOVWUDWHJ\PHHWLQJDQGUHFHLYHVIHHGEDFN from the Company's broker and updates from the Manager's investor relations team DW%RDUGPHHWLQJV WRKHOSWREHWWHUXQGHUVWDQGLQYHVWRUVHQWLPHQWWRZDUGVWKH &RPSDQ\DQGLWVVWUDWHJ\
,QYHVWPHQW3HUIRUPDQFH WKH %RDUGUHFRJQLVHVWKDWPDUNHW ULVNLVVLJQLILFDQWLQDFKLHYLQJ SHUIRUPDQFHDQGLWUHYLHZV LQYHVWPHQWJXLGHOLQHVWR HQVXUHWKDWWKH\DUH DSSURSULDWH7KH%RDUG UHJXODUO\UHYLHZVWKHLPSDFW RIJHRSROLWLFDOLQVWDELOLW\DQG FKDQJHRQPDUNHWULVN		7KH%RDUGPHHWVWKH0DQDJHURQDUHJXODUEDVLVDQGNHHSVLQYHVWPHQWSHUIRUPDQFH XQGHUFORVHUHYLHZ 7KH%RDUGVHWVDQGPRQLWRUVWKHLQYHVWPHQWUHVWULFWLRQVDQGJXLGHOLQHVDQGUHJXODU UHSRUWVDUHUHFHLYHGIURPWKH0DQDJHURQVWRFNVHOHFWLRQDVVHWDOORFDWLRQJHDULQJ UHYHQXHIRUHFDVWVDQGWKHFRVWVRIUXQQLQJWKH&RPSDQ\ The Board determines the Company's dividend policy and approves the level of GLYLGHQGVSD\DEOHWRVKDUHKROGHUV

Overview of Strategy

Continued

Risk	Trend	Mitigating Action
		Representatives of the Manager attend all Board meetings and a detailed formal appraisal of the Manager is carried out by the Management Engagement Committee on an annual basis to ensure that the continued appointment of the Manager remains in the best interests of the shareholders.
		The Board engages with shareholders at its AGM and Pre-AGM Online Event and with larger shareholders at least annually to listen to sentiment towards the Company and its performance directly.
Exogenous risks such as health, social, financial, economic and geopolitical - the effects of instability or change arising from these risks could have an adverse impact on stock		The Board discusses current issues with the Manager. During the year under review, such issues have included increased inflation and interest rates and the resulting volatility that it created in global stock markets, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and associated sanctions, investor attitudes towards equity markets, and the steps that the Manager has taken or might take to limit their impact on the portfolio and the operations of the Company.
markets and the value of the investment portfolio. Political risks include the political instability in the UK, the terms of the UK's exit from the European Union, any regulatory changes resulting		The Portfolio Manager's Review on pages 10 to 14 summarises the purchases and sales activity during the Period as the Company considered the new set of opportunities arising from the meaningful change in market backdrop during the financial year. The Manager is in regular communication with investee entities, economists, and the wider market to determine the impact of the geopolitical and economic environment on the portfolio.
from a different political environment, and wider geo- political issues.		The Board oversees the Manager's performance at each Board Meeting and formally considers whether the Company's strategy remains fit for purpose, in light of exogenous risk, at its annual strategy meeting which last took place in August 2023. The Board also regularly discusses the economic environment, geopolitical risks, industry trends and the potential impact on the Company with the Company's broker.
Operational Risk - in common with most investment trusts, the Board delegates the operation of the business to third parties, the principal		The Audit Committee receives and reviews reports from the Manager on its internal controls and risk management (including an annual ISAE Report). It also receives and reviews report from all its other significant service providers on at least an annual basis, including on matters relating to business continuity and cyber security. Written agreements are in place with all third party service providers.
delegate being the Manager. Failure of internal controls and poor performance of any service provider could lead		The Manager monitors closely the control environments and quality of services provided by third parties, including those of the Depositary, through service level agreements, regular meetings and key performance indicators.
to disruption, reputational damage or loss to the Company.		A formal appraisal of the Company's main third party service providers is carried out by the Management Engagement Committee on an annual basis.
Governance Risk - the Directors recognise the impact that an ineffective board, unable to discuss, review and make decisions,		The Board is aware of the importance of effective leadership and board composition. The Board regularly reviews its own performance and, at least annually, formally reviews the performance of the Board and Chair through its performance evaluation process.

could have on the Company and its shareholders.

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Results

Highlights

	30 September 2023	30 September 2022	% change
Capital
Net asset value per Ordinary share	314.6p	331.8p	-5.2%
Ordinary share price	314.0p	302.5p	3.8%
Reference Index capital returnº	4,127.2	3,763.5	9.7%
Discount of Ordinary share price to net asset value^	0.2%	8.8%
Total assets (as defined on page 99)	£170.8m	£182.5m	-6.4%
Shareholders' funds	£149.9m	£157.5m	-4.8%
Gearing
Net gearingA	11.3%	15.0%
Earnings and Dividends
Revenue return per Ordinary share	23.43p	25.51p	-8.2%
Total dividends for the year	22.80p	22.70p	0.4%
Dividend yield^	7.3%	75%
Expenses
Ongoing charges ratioAB	0.94%	0.91%

A Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 90 and 91.

ª Calculated in accordance with AlC guidance issued in Company's share of costs of holdings in investment companies on a look-through basis. © FTSE All-Share Index

Performance (total return)

30 September 2023	1 year ళ్ళ	3 years ళ్ళ	5 years శ్రీశ	10 years %
Net asset valueA	1.8	31.5	-12.8	31.5
Share priceA	11.4	51.1	-9.5	33.9
Reference IndexB	13.8	39.8	19.7	71.8

A Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on page 92.

BFTSE All-Share Index.

Source: abrdn/Morningstar/Factset

Results

Continued

Annual total returns of abrdn Equity Income Trust NAV and FTSE All-Share Index September 2013 - 2023

abran Equity Income Trust Premium/(Discount) relative to the UK Equity Income unweighted sector average since 30 September 2018

Annual Dividend Growth versus RPI since 2013

Ten Year Financial Record

Year ended 30 September	Gross revenue £'000	Revenue available for Ordinary shareholders £'000	Revenue return p	Ordinary dividends p	Net asset valueA p	Share price p	DiscountAB లిం	Ongoing chargesBC ેર	Net gearing / (cash)B లిం	Equity shareholders' funds £m	Revenue reserves D (&m)
2014	5,780	5,136	15.69	14.00	3979	394.0	1.0	0.94	13.4	166.5	5.75
2015	6,107	5,361	17.18	14.70	440.7	439.0	0.4	0.94	77	195.6	6.88
2016	7,084	6,214	17.92	15.40	431.5	412.4	4.4	0.96	75	199.7	8.15
2017	7,957	7,044	19.23	17.10	478.65	459.6	4.8	0.87	99	235.3E	9.41
2018	11,893	10,846	22.06	19.20	485.0	473.0	25	0.87	12.1	238.4	10.82
2019	11,791	10,687	21.74	20.50	411.8	381.5	7.4	0.91	13.7	201.5	11.58
2020	8,730	7,614	15.61	20.60	288.0	252.0	125	0.92	133	139.2	8.75
2021	10,642	9,693	20.06	21.20	380.8	349.0	8.4	0.93	13.5	182.9	8.49
2022	13,517	12,244	25.51	22.70	331.8	302.5	8.8	0.91	15.0	157.5	10.27
2023	12,598	11,109	23.43	22.80	314.6	314.0	0.2	0.94	11.3	149.9	10.18

A Diluted for the effect of Subscription shares in issue for the year ended 30 September 2016.

B Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 90 and 91.

^ Calculated in accordance with AC guidance issued in Company's share of costs of holdings in investment companies on a lock-through boss. The figure for 30 September 2020 has been restated in accordance with this guidance.

Revenue reserves are reported prior to paying the interim dividend in each year. For 2017 only, reserves are reported after having deducted the third interim dividend.

FThe 2017 Net Asset Value is calculated under Finances and includes an adjustment for the third interim dividerin a livich had been declared, but not paid, at the year end.

Portfolio

nationalgrig

The portfolio is invested on an indexagnostic basis. The process is based on bottom-up stock picking approach where sector allocations are a function of the sum of the stock selection decisions, constrained only by appropriate risk control parameters.

nationalgrid

Ten Largest Investments

As at 30 September 2023

BP

BP is an oil and petrochemicals company. The Company explores for and produces oil and natural gas, refines, markets, and supplies petroleum products, generates renewable energy, and manufactures and markets chemicals.

GLENCORE

Shell

Glencore

Shell explores for, produces and refines petroleum. The Company produces fuels, chemicals, and lubricants, as well as operating gasoline filling stations and developing renewable energy.

Glencore is a diversified natural

resources company, with production

groups; metals and minerals, energy

Close Brothers is a specialist financial

trades securities and provides advice

and investment management solutions.

service group which provides loans,

products and agricultural products.

and marketing operations in three

SSF

SSE engages in the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and the production, storage, distribution and supply of gas.

nationalgrid

National Grid

National Grid is a utility company which is focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas in Great Britain and the United States.

DIVERSIFIED ENERGY

Close Brothers

Diversified Energy

Close Brothers

Diversified Energy is engaged in conventional natural gas and crude oil production in the Appalachian Basin of the United States.

Barclays

Barclays is a global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services.

NatWest Group

NatWest Group NatWest Oroup financial services company. The Bank is the largest business and commercial bank in the UK, with a leading retail business, providing a comprehensive range of lending and savings products

Imperial Brands

Imperial Brands is a global consumer goods company that manufactures, markets and distributes tobacco products across approximately 120 markets.

Investment Portfolio

As at 30 September 2023

Stock	Key Sector	Valuation as at 30 September 2023 £,000	Weight ని	Valuation as at 30 September 2022 £,000
BP	Oil Gas and Coal	8,862	5.4	10,244
Shell	Oil Gas and Coal	8,771	5.3	8,712
SSE	Electricity	7,294	4.4	5,735
Glencore	Industrial Metals and Mining	6,210	3.7	7,157
National Grid	Gas Water and Multi-utilities	6,160	3.7	3,180
Close Brothers	Banks	5,604	3.4	4,445
Barclays	Banks	5,420	3.3	4,921
Diversified Energy	Oil Gas and Coal	5,373	3.2	6,154
NatWest Group	Banks	5,194	3.1	3,504
Imperial Brands	Tobacco	4,945	3.0	4,217
Top ten investments		63,833	38.5
BHP	Industrial Metals and Mining	4,612	2.8	6,172
Smith (DS)	General Industrials	4,418	2.7	2,503
HSBC	Banks	4,400	2.6
Conduit Holdings	Non-life Insurance	4,267	2.6	1,520
Thungela Resources	Oil Gas and Coal	4,122	2.5	9,109
Chesnara	Life Insurance	3,763	2.3	3,756
Rio Tinto	Industrial Metals and Mining	3,686	22	5,353
OSB Group	Finance and Credit Services	3,476	2.1	3,626
Tyman	Construction and Materials	3,304	2.0	2,320
British American Tobacco	Tobacco	3,127	1.9	5,068
Top twenty investments		103,008	62.2

	As at 30 September 2023

Stock	Key Sector	Valuation as at 30 September 2023 £,000	Weight ని	Valuation as at 30 September 2022 £,000
BAE Systems	Aerospace and Defense	3,102	1.9	2,623
Legal & General	Life Insurance	3,051	1.8	3,145
LondonMetric	Real Estate Investment Trusts	2,849	1.7	1,222
Ithaca Energy	Oil Gas and Coal	2,776	1.7
Vistry	Household Goods and Home Construction	2,687	1.6	2,995
Hargreaves Lansdown	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	2,606	1.6	1,737
Standard Chartered	Banks	2,555	1.6	4,015
Galliford Try	Construction and Materials	2,532	15	1,517
International Personal Finance Finance and Credit Services		2,368	1.4	1,326
Anglo American	Industrial Metals and Mining	2,355	1.4	3,488
Top thirty investments		129,889	78.4
Litigation Capital	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	2,268	1.4	1,631
CMC Markets	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	2,146	1.3	4,498
Real Estate Investors	Real Estate Investment Trusts	2,020	1.2	2,319
DFS Furniture	Retailers	2,014	1.2	1,667
Petershill Partners	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	1,999	1.2	1,706
TPICAP	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	1,987	1.2	1,602
Quilter	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	1,898	1.1	1,281
Vanquis Banking Group	Finance and Credit Services	1,795	1.1
Bellway	Household Goods and Home Construction	1,705	1.0	1,272
Speedy Hire	Industrial Transportation	1,615	1.0	1,865
Top forty investments		149,336	90.1

Investment Portfolio

Continued

As at 30 September 2023

		Valuation as at		Valuation as at
Stock	Key Sector	30 September 2023 £,000	Weight ని	30 September 2022 £,000
Hays	Industrial Support Services	1,595	1.0	1,490
Centamin	Precious Metals and Mining	1,547	0.9	1,668
Ashmore	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	1,517	0.9	1,591
Phoenix	Life Insurance	1,471	0.9	1,606
Harbour Energy	Oil Gas and Coal	1,366	0.8	1,209
Diageo	Beverages	1,328	0.8	1,922
AstraZeneca	Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology	1,311	0.8	1,839
Randall & Quilter	Non-life Insurance	1,247	0.7	2,337
Halfords	Retailers	1,132	0.7	753
Vodafone	Telecommunications Service Providers	1,086	0.7	1,887
Top fifty investments		162,936	98.3
CLS Holdings	Real Estate Investment and Services	1,085	0.7	1,266
Bridgepoint	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	1,007	0.6	981
Premier Miton	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	୧୫3	0.4	2,411
AssetCo	Investment Banking and Brokerage Services	23		750
Total Portfolio		165,734	100.0

All investments are equity investments.

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Governance

abrdn Equity Income Trust plc

The Board of Directors of the Company is a highly experienced group of individuals with deep insights into investment trusts and the financial services industry. The Board works closely with the Manager to deliver shareholder value.

The Board is responsible for stewardship, including overall strategy, investment policy, borrowings, dividends, corporate governance procedures and risk management.

Board of Directors

Sarika Patel Independent Non-Executive Chair

Experience:

Appointed to the Board on 1 November 2019, and as Chair on 2 February 2023, Sarika Patel is a business leader with nearly 30 years' experience. She is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Marketer. Sarika is a nonexecutive director of SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc and of Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company.

Previously a partner at Zeus Caps, Sarika has been on a host of public and private sector boards. She is currently Chair of Action for Children, one of the UK's leading charities for children, and a Board Member of the Office for Nuclear Regulation where she chairs the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.

Length of service:

4 years, 1 month. Appointed a Director on 1 November 2019 and as Chair on 2 February 2023.

Committee membership:

Audit Committee and Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee.

Contribution:

The Board has reviewed the contribution of Sarika Patel in light of her proposed re-election at the AGM and has concluded that she is an excellent Chair. She is in full command of the governance and technical issues and adept in bringing the Directors together to develop a Board view.

Caroline Hitch

Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee

Experience:

Appointed to the Board on 1 January 2017 and as Chair of the Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee on 5 February 2021, Caroline is also Senior Independent Director of Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company plc and Chair of CQS New City High Yield Fund Ltd. Her career in financial services was mainly with the HSBC group and most recently she was Head of Wealth Portfolio Management at HSBC's asset management arm with investment responsibility for their flagship retail multi asset funds. She has worked in London, Jersey, Monaco and Hong Kong.

Length of service:

6 years, 11 months. Appointed a Director on 1 January 2017 and Chair of the Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee on 5 February 2021.

Committee membership:

Audit Committee, Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee (Chair).

Contribution:

The Board has reviewed the contribution of Caroline Hitch in light of her proposed re-election at the AGM. The Board has concluded that she continues to bring significant investment insight to the Board and knowledge of the investment management sector. She also continues to expertly Chair the Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee.

Mark Little

Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee

Experience:

Appointed to the Board on 1 August 2022 and as Chair of the Audit Committee on 2 February 2023. He is a non executive director and also chairs the audit committees of BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc, the Majedie Investment Trust Plc and Securities Trust of Scotland Plc.

He was previously Investment Director at Seven Investment Management and a non-executive director (and audit committee chairman) of Sanditon Investment Trust plc. Mr Little began his career in the investment industry as a fund manager with Scottish Widows Investment Management after qualifying in 1991 as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse. He subsequently worked as Global Head of Automotive Research for Deutsche Bank and Managing Director of Barclays Wealth (Scotland and Northern Ireland), a position that he held for eight years until 2013.

Length of service:

1 year, 5 months. Appointed a Director on 1 August 2022 and as Chair of the Audit Committee on 2 February 2023.

Committee membership:

Audit Committee (Chair) and Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee.

Contribution:

The Board has reviewed the contribution of Mark Little in light of his proposed re-election at the AGM. The Board has concluded that he is an effective Chair of the Audit Committee Chair and brings investment trust experience and investment insights into all Board discussions.

Jeremy Tigue

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Experience:

Appointed to the Board on 1 October 2014 and as the Senior Independent Director with effect from 15 December 2016. Mr Tigue is a Non-Executive Director of The Monks Investment Trust PLC. He was the Fund Manager of Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust PLC from 1997 to June 2014, a Director of the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC") from 2003 to 2013 and a Non-executive Director of The Mercantile Investment Trust plc until May 2022.

Length of service:

9 years, 2 months. Appointed a Director on 1 October 2014 and as Senior Independent Director on 15 December 2016.

Committee membership:

Audit Committee and Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee.

Contribution:

As set out in the Chair's Statement, Jeremy Tigue is due to retire from the Board at the AGM on 20 February 2024. The Board would like to thank Jeremy for his commitment to the Company and the Board during his nine year tenure. He has contributed significantly to Board discussions during this time.

Board of Directors

Continued

Nick Timberlake Independent Non-Executive Director

Experience:

Appointed to the Board on 1 August 2023. He has over thirty years experience in the asset management industry as a Portfolio Manager, he was with HSBC Global Asset Management between 2005 and 2020, initially as Global Head of Emerging Markets Equities and then Head of Equities. Previously he was a Director of F&C Investment Management and has spent the last 30 years investing in equities. He is a Non-Executive Director of the India Capital Growth Fund and CT Automotive plc. He is a partner in Panorama Property Investments LLP. Nick is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of the UK.

Length of service:

5 months. Appointed a Director on 1 August 2023.

Committee membership:

Audit Committee and Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee.

Contribution:

The Board has reviewed the contribution of Nick Timberlake in light of his proposed election at the AGM. The Board has concluded that Nick has made a very positive start to his tenure on the Board, and already contributes effectively to Board discussions.

Directors' Report

The Directors present their report and the audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended 30 September 2023.

Results and Dividends

The financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2023 are contained on pages 71 to 89. Interim dividends of 5.7 pence per share were paid in March, June and September 2023. The Board has declared that a fourth interim dividend for the year to 30 September 2023 of 5.7 pence per share is payable on 8 January 2024 to shareholders on the register on 8 December 2023. The exdividend date is 7 December 2023.

Principal Activity and Status

The Company is registered as a public limited company in England and Wales under company number 2648152. The Company is an investment company within the meaning of Section 833 of the Companies Act 2006, carries on business as an investment trust and is a member of the Association of Investment Companies.

The Company has applied for and has been accepted as an investment trust under Sections 1158 and 1159 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and Part 2 Chapter 1 of Statutory Instrument 2011/2999. This approval relates to accounting periods commencing on or after 1 October 2012. The Directors are of the opinion that the Company has conducted its affairs so as to be able to retain such approval.

The Company intends to manage its affairs so that its Ordinary shares continue to be a qualifying investment for inclusion in the stocks and shares component of an Individual Savings Account.

Capital Structure and Voting Rights

The Company's issued share capital at 30 September 2023 consisted of 47,646,522 Ordinary shares of 25 pence each (2022: 47,471,939) and there were 1,532,245 Ordinary shares held in treasury (2022: 1,706,828), representing 3.1% (2022: 3.5%) of the issued share capital as at that date.

During the year, 100,417 Ordinary shares were bought back into treasury (2022: 561,535) and 275,000 Ordinary shares were issued from treasury (2022: nil).

There have been no changes to the Company's capital structure or voting rights since the year end.

Each Ordinary shareholder is entitled to one vote on a show of hands and, on a poll, to one vote for every Ordinary share held.

Management Agreement

The Company has appointed abrdn Fund Managers Limited ("AFML"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of abrdn plc, as its alternative investment fund manager (the "Manager"). AFML has been appointed to provide investment management, risk management, administration and company secretarial services, and promotional activities to the Company. The Company's portfolio is managed by abrdn Investment Management Limited (the "Investment Manager") by way of a group delegation agreement in place between AFML and the Investment Manager.

In addition, AFML has sub-delegated administrative and secretarial services to abrdn Holdings Limited (previously called Aberdeen Asset Management PLC).

Up until 30 September 2023 ,the Company's management fee is calculated as 0.65% per annum of net assets up to £1.75million and at a rate of 0.55% of net assets above this threshold.

With effect from 1 October 2023, the Company's management fee is calculated as 0.55% of net assets.

The Manager also receives a separate fee for the provision of promotional activities to the Company.

Further details of the fees payable to the Manager are shown in notes 3 and 4 to the financial statements.

The management agreement is terminable on not less than six months' notice. In the event of termination by the Company on less than the agreed notice period, compensation is payable to the Manager in lieu of the unexpired notice period.

Directors' Report

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Caroline Hitch, Mark Little and Sarika Patel will retire and, being eligible, will offer themselves for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. Nick Timberlake will offer himself for election at the Annual General Meeting. As set out in the Chair's Statement, Jeremy Tigue will retire from the Board at the Annual General Meeting on 20 February 2024, having served on the Board for nine years.

The Board believes that all the Directors seeking election or re-election remain independent of the Manager and free from any relationship which could materially interfere with the exercise of their judgement on issues of strategy, performance, resources and standards of conduct. The biographies of each of the Directors are shown on pages 42 to 44, setting out their range of skills and experience as well as length of service and their contribution to the Board during the year. The Board believes that, collectively, it has the requisite high level and range of business, investment and financial experience to enable it to provide clear and effective leadership and proper governance of the Company. Following formal performance evaluations, each Director's performance continues to be effective and demonstrates commitment to the role, and their individual performances contribute to the long-term sustainable success of the Company. The Board therefore recommends the election or re-election of each of the Directors at the Annual General Meeting.

Board's Policy on Tenure

In normal circumstances, it is the Board's expectation that Directors will not serve beyond the Annual General Meeting following the ninth anniversary of their appointment. However, the Board takes the view that

independence of individual Directors is not necessarily compromised by length of tenure on the Board and that continuity and experience can add significantly to the Board's strength. The Board believes that recommendation for re-election should be on an individual basis following a rigorous review which assesses the contribution made by the Director concerned, but also taking into account the need for regular refreshment and diversity.

Board Diversity Policy

The Board recognises the importance of having a range of skilled and experienced individuals with the right knowledge represented on the Board in order to allow it to fulfil its obligations. The Board also recognises the benefits and is supportive of the principle of diversity in its recruitment of new Board members. The Board will not display any bias for age, gender, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion, ethnic or national origins or disability in considering the appointment of its Directors. In view of its size, the Board will continue to ensure that all appointments are made on the basis of merit against the specification prepared for each appointment. In doing so, the Board will take account of the targets set out in the FCA's Listing Rules, which are set out in the tables below.

The Board has resolved that the Company's year-end date is the most appropriate date for disclosure purposes. The following information has been provided by each Director through the completion of questionnaires. There have been no changes since the year end.

Directors' Report

Continued

Board Gender as at 30 September 2023

	Number of Board members	Percentage of the Board	Number of senior positions on the Board (note 3)	Number in executive	Percentage of executive management management
Men	ന	60%	2
Women	2	40% (note 1)	2	n/a	n/a

Board Ethnic Background as at 30 September 2023

	Number of Board members	Percentage of the Board	Number of senior positions on the Board (note 3)	Number in executive management	Percentage of executive management
White British or other White (including minority-white groups)	ব	80%	ന
Asian	1 (note 2)	20%	1	n/a	n/a

Notes:

1. Meets the target of at least 40% as set out in LR 9.8.6R (9)(a)(i).
1. Meets the target of at least one individual on the Board is from a minority ethnic background as set out in LR 9.8.6R (9)(a)(iii).
1. Whilst the Listing Rules define senior positions as the role of the Chief Executive, the Senior Independent Director ("SID") and the Chief Financial Officer, the positions of the Chief Financial Officer are not relevant for the Company. The Company therefore considers that the role of Chair of the Audit Committee and the Chair of the Remuneration & Management Committee are senior positions.

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Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance

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The Audit Committee's Report is contained on pages WR

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As reported in the Chair's Statement, it has been agreed WKDW1LFN7LPEHUODNHZLOODVVXPHWKHUROHRI&KDLURIWKH 5HPXQHUDWLRQ 0DQDJHPHQW(QJDJHPHQW&RPPLWWHH ZLWKHIIHFWLYHIURPWKHFRQFOXVLRQRIWKH\$*0RQ )HEUXDU\

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The Company's assets consist mainly of equity shares in FRPSDQLHVOLVWHGRQUHFRJQLVHGVWRFNH[FKDQJHVDQGDUH FRQVLGHUHGE\WKH%RDUGWREHUHDOLVDEOHZLWKLQDVKRUW WLPHVFDOHXQGHUQRUPDOPDUNHWFRQGLWLRQV7KH%RDUGKDV VHWRYHUDOOOLPLWVIRUERUURZLQJDQGUHYLHZVUHJXODUO\WKH Company's level of gearing, cash flow projections and FRPSOLDQFHZLWKEDQNLQJFRYHQDQWVZKHQDSSOLFDEOH 7KH%RDUGKDVDOVRSHUIRUPHGVWUHVVWHVWLQJDQG OLTXLGLW\DQDO\VLV

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The Directors are mindful of the Principal Risks and Uncertainties disclosed in the Strategic Report on pages 19 to 21 and they believe that the Company has adequate financial resources to continue its operational existence for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of approval of this Report. They have arrived at this conclusion having confirmed that the Company's diversified portfolio of realisable securities is sufficiently liquid and could be used to meet short-term funding requirements were they to arise. They have also reviewed the revenue and ongoing expenses forecasts for the coming year. Accordingly, the Directors believe that it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Accountability and Audit

The respective responsibilities of the Directors and the Auditor in connection with the financial statements appear on page 70.

The Directors who held office at the date of approval of this Directors' Report confirm that, so far as they are each aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company's Auditor is unaware; and each Director has taken all the steps that he/ she ought to have taken as a Director to make himself/ herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Company's Auditor is aware of that information.

Independent Auditor

Shareholders approved the re-appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's Independent Auditor at the AGM on 2 February 2023.

As set out in the Chair's Statement, following an audit tender exercise, the Board is submitting resolutions to the AGM on 20 February 2024 to appoint Johnston Carmichael LLP as the Company's Auditor for the year to 30 September 2024 and to authorise the Directors to determine the remuneration of the Auditor

Relations with Shareholders

The Directors place a great deal of importance on communications with shareholders. Shareholders and investors may obtain up to date information on the Company through its website and the Manager's Customer Services Department by emailing [email protected].

The Board's policy is to communicate directly with shareholders and their representative bodies without the involvement of the management group (including the Company Secretary or the Manager) in situations where direct communication is required, and representatives from the Manager meet with major shareholders on at least an annual basis in order to gauge their views, and report back to the Board on these meetings. In addition, the Company Secretary only acts on behalf of the Board, not the Manager, and there is no filtering of communication. At each Board meeting the Board receives full details of any communication from shareholders to which the Chair responds personally as appropriate.

The Company's Annual General Meeting provides a forum for communication primarily with private shareholders and is attended by the Board. The Manager makes a presentation to the meeting and all shareholders have the opportunity to put questions to both the Board and the Manager at the meeting. The Board will also be hosting an Online Pre-AGM Investor Session to engage directly with shareholders, regardless of their location. Details on how to register for the Online Pre-AGM Investor Session are set out in the Chair's Statement on page 8.

The notice of the Annual General Meeting is sent out at least 20 working days in advance of the meeting. All shareholders have the opportunity to put questions to the Board and Manager at the meeting.

Additional Information

Where not provided elsewhere in the Directors' Report, the following provides the additional information required to be disclosed by Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

There are no restrictions on the transfer of Ordinary shares in the Company issued by the Company other than certain restrictions which may from time to time be imposed by law (for example, the Market Abuse Regulation). The Company is not aware of any agreements between shareholders that may result in a transfer of securities and/or voting rights.

The rules governing the appointment of Directors are set out in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 54 to 57. The Company's Articles of Association may only be amended by a special resolution passed at a general meeting of shareholders.

Directors' Report

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Directors' Remuneration Report

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· The Company indemnifies its Directors for all costs, charges, losses, expenses and liabilities which may be incurred in the discharge of duties as a Director of the Company.

Performance, Service Contracts, Compensation and Loss of Office

· Directors' remuneration is not subject to any performance related fee.
· No Director has a service contract.
· No Director was interested in contracts with the Company during the period or subsequently.
· The terms of appointment provide that a Director may be removed without notice.
· There is no notice period and no provision for compensation upon early termination of appointment, save for any arrears of fees which may be due.
· No Director is entitled to any other monetary payment or any assets of the Company.

Directors' & Officers' liability insurance cover is maintained by the Company on behalf of the Directors.

During the year, shareholders voted in favour of an increase in the aggregate remuneration payable to Directors from £150,000 to £250,000. There were no changes to the Directors' Remuneration Policy during the year and there are no proposals for changes in the foreseeable future.

The Remuneration Policy is reviewed by the Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee on an annual basis and at last year's meeting the Committee's stated its intention that this Remuneration Policy will apply for the three year period ending 30 September 2025. This intention stands.

Statement of Voting on the Directors' Remuneration Policy at General Meeting

At the Annual General Meeting held on 2 February 2023, shareholders approved the Directors' Remuneration Policy. 96.84% of proxy votes were in favour of the resolution and 3.16% of proxy votes were cast against the resolution.

Implementation Report

Review of Directors' Fees

The Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee carried out a review of the level of Directors' fees during the year, which included consideration of fees paid by comparable investment trusts and the sector as a whole. During the year, it was agreed that, with effect from 1 October 2023, it was agreed that Directors' fees would be increased by £3,000 for the Chair, and by £2,000 per annum for each other Director. The Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee also agreed that a separate fee for the Senior Independent Director be introduced at a total of £28,000 per annum.

The Remuneration & Management Engagement Committee was not provided with advice or services by any person in respect of its consideration of the Directors' remuneration

Company Performance

The graph below shows the share price and NAV total return (assuming all dividends are reinvested) to Ordinary shareholders compared to the total return from the FTSE All-Share Index for the ten year period to 30 September 2023 (rebased to 100 at 30 September 2013). This index was chosen for comparison purposes only, as it is a widely used indicator for the equity market in which the Company invests.

Directors' Remuneration Report

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Audit Committee's Report

The Audit Committee presents its Report for the year ended 30 September 2023.

Committee Composition

During the financial year, the Committee was chaired by Sarika Patel until 2 February 2023, and has been chaired by Mark Little since then. Both Sarika Patel and Mark Little are Chartered Accountants and have recent and relevant financial experience.

The Committee comprises all Non-Executive Directors. Given the size of the Board, and the skillset and continued independence of Sarika Patel, the Board believes that it is appropriate for all the independent Directors, including the Chair of the Board, to constitute the Audit Committee. The Board is satisfied that the Committee as a whole has competence relevant to the investment trust sector.

Functions of the Audit Committee

The principal role of the Audit Committee is to assist the Board in relation to the reporting of financial information, the review of financial controls and the management of risk.

The Committee has defined terms of reference which are reviewed and re-assessed for their adequacy on at least an annual basis. Copies of the terms of reference are published on the Company's website and are available from the Company on request.

The Committee's main functions are listed below:

· to review and monitor the internal control systems and risk management systems (including review of nonfinancial risks) on which the Company is reliant (the Directors' statement on the Company's internal controls and risk management is set out below );
· to consider whether there is a need for the Company to have its own internal audit function:
· to monitor the integrity of the half-yearly and annual financial statements of the Company and any formal announcements relating to the Company's financial performance, by reviewing, and challenging where necessary, the actions and judgements of the Manager;
· to review, and report to the Board on, the significant financial reporting issues and judgements made in connection with the preparation of the Company's financial statements, half-yearly financial reports, any formal announcements relating to the Company's financial performance;
to review the content of the Annual Report and advise the Board on whether, taken as a whole, it is fair, balanced and understandable and provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's position and performance, business model and strategy;
· to meet with the Auditor to review the proposed audit programme of work and the findings of the Auditor. The Committee shall also use this as an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the audit process;
to develop and implement policy on the engagement of the Auditor to supply non-audit services. Non-audit fees paid to the Auditor during the year under review amounted to &nil (2022 &nil). All non-audit services must be approved in advance by the Audit Committee and will be reviewed in the light of relevant guidance and statutory requirements regarding the provision of nonaudit services by the external audit firm, and the need to maintain the Auditor's independence;
to review a statement from the Manager detailing the arrangements in place within the Manager whereby staff may, in confidence, escalate concerns about possible improprieties in matters of financial reporting or other matters;
· to make recommendations to the Board in relation to the appointment of the Auditor and to approve the remuneration and terms of engagement of the Auditor; and
· to monitor and review the Auditor's independence, objectivity, effectiveness, resources and qualification, taking into consideration relevant UK professional and regulatory requirements.

Activities During the Year

The Audit Committee met twice during the year when, amongst other things, it considered the Annual Report and the Half-Yearly Financial Report in detail.

Representatives of the Manager's internal audit, risk and compliance departments reported to the Committee at these meetings on matters such as internal control systems, risk management and the conduct of the business in the context of its regulatory environment. No significant weaknesses in the control environment were identified. The Committee, therefore, concluded that there were no significant issues which required to be reported to the Board.

The Audit Committee also led an audit tender during the financial year. Please see the Chair's Statement on page 8 and Appointment of New Independent Auditor on page 61 for more details.

Internal Controls and Risk Management

The Board confirms that there is an ongoing process for identifying, evaluating and managing the Company's significant business and operational risks, that has been in place for the year ended 30 September 2023 and up to the date of approval of the Annual Report, is regularly reviewed by the Board and accords with the FRC's guidance on internal controls.

The Board has overall responsibility for ensuring that there is a system of internal controls and risk management in place and a process for reviewing its effectiveness. Dayto-day measures have been delegated to the Manager with an effective process of reporting to the Board for supervision and control. The system of internal controls and risk management is designed to meet the Company's particular needs and the risks to which it is exposed. Accordingly, the system of internal control and risk management is designed to manage, rather than eliminate, the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and, by its nature, can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

The design, implementation and maintenance of controls and procedures to safeguard the assets of the Company and to manage its affairs properly extends to operational and compliance controls and risk management. The Board, through the Audit Committee, has prepared its own risk register which lists potential risks including those set out in the Strategic Report on pages 19 to 21. The Board considers the potential cause and possible effect of these risks as well as reviewing the controls in place to mitigate them.

Clear lines of accountability have been established between the Board and the Manager. The Board receives regular reports covering key performance and risk indicators and considers control and compliance issues brought to its attention. In carrying out its review, the Board has had regard to the activities of the Manager, including its internal audit and compliance functions.

The Board has reviewed the Manager's process for identifying and evaluating the significant risks faced by the Company and the policies and procedures by which these risks are managed. The Board has also reviewed the effectiveness of the Manager's system of internal control including its annual internal controls report prepared in accordance with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board's International Standard on Assurances Engagements ("ISAE") 3402, "Assurance Reports on Controls at a Service Organisation". Any weaknesses identified are reported to the Audit Committee and timetables are agreed for implementing improvements to systems. The implementation of any remedial action required is monitored and feedback provided to the Audit Committee.

The key components designed to provide effective internal control are outlined below:

· written agreements are in place which specifically define the roles and responsibilities of the Manager and other third party service providers. These agreements are reviewed periodically by the Board;
the Board and Manager have agreed clearly defined investment criteria, specified levels of authority and exposure limits. Reports on these issues, including performance statistics and investment valuations, are regularly submitted to the Board;
· the Manager prepares forecasts and management accounts which allow the Board to assess the Company's activities and review its performance;
as a matter of course the Manager's internal audit and compliance departments continually review its operations;
· bi-annually, the Audit Committee carries out an assessment of internal controls by considering documentation from the Manager, including the internal audit and compliance functions and reports to the Board on its conclusions; and
· the Audit Committee reviews internal control reports from its third party service providers including the Depositary, BNP Paribas Trust Corporation UK Limited and the Registrar, Computershare.

Audit Committee's Report

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7KH\$XGLW&RPPLWWHHKDVUHYLHZHGWKHHIIHFWLYHQHVVRI the independent Auditor, KPMG LLP ("KPMG"), including:

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The independent Auditor's report is included on pages WR'HWDLOVRIWKHDPRXQWVSDLGWR.30*GXULQJWKH\HDU IRUDXGLWVHUYLFHVDUHVHWRXWLQQRWHWRWKHILQDQFLDO VWDWHPHQWV

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KPMG was initially appointed as the Company's LQGHSHQGHQW\$XGLWRURQ0DUFKDQGDSSURYHGE\ VKDUHKROGHUVDWWKH\$QQXDO*HQHUDO0HHWLQJRQ -DQXDU\,QDFFRUGDQFHZLWKSUHVHQWSURIHVVLRQDO JXLGHOLQHVWKHVHQLRUVWDWXWRU\DXGLWRULVURWDWHGDIWHUQR PRUHWKDQILYH\HDUV7KH\HDUHQGHG6HSWHPEHU LVWKHVHFRQG\HDUGXULQJZKLFKWKHSUHVHQWVHQLRU VWDWXWRU\DXGLWRUKDVVHUYHG

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+RZHYHUDVVHWRXWLQWKHChair's StatementWKH%RDUG OHGE\WKH\$XGLW&RPPLWWHHXQGHUWRRNDQHDUO\DXGLW WHQGHULQ. This followed the Board's observation of a JHQHUDOWUHQGRIULVLQJDXGLWIHHVDFURVVWKHLQGXVWU\DQG GLVFXVVLRQZLWK.30*DERXWIXWXUHIHHV7KH\$XGLW &RPPLWWHHLQYLWHGDQXPEHURIILUPVWRWHQGHUIRUWKH Company's audit and interviewed three shortOLVWHGILUPV Each of the firm's presentations were of an extremely high TXDOLW\DQGWKH\$XGLW&RPPLWWHHFRXOGKDYH UHFRPPHQGHGWKHDSSRLQWPHQWRIHDFKRIWKRVHILUPV

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7KH\$XGLW&RPPLWWHHKDVDJUHHGZLWK.30*WKDW DVVXPLQJVKDUHKROGHUDSSURYDORIWKHDSSRLQWPHQWRI -RKQVWRQ&DUPLFKDHOLWZLOOresign as the Company's H[WHUQDODXGLWRUat the Company's AGM on 20 February 7KH%RDUGIRUPDOO\WKDQNV.30*IRUWKHLU SURIHVVLRQDOVXSSRUWDQGGLOLJHQWVHUYLFHWKURXJKRXW WKHLUDSSRLQWPHQW

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inancial Statements

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The Directors set the investment policy, which is to invest in a diversified portfolio consisting mainly of quoted UK equities which will normally comprise between 50 and 70 individual equity holdings.

8.69

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

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We have audited the financial statements of abrdn Equity Income Trust plc ("the Company") for the year ended 30 6HSWHPEHUZKLFKFRPSULVHWKH6WDWHPHQWRI&RPSUHKHQVLYH,QFRPH6WDWHPHQWRI)LQDQFLDO3RVLWLRQ6WDWHPHQW RI&KDQJHVLQ(TXLW\DQGWKHUHODWHGQRWHVLQFOXGLQJWKHDFFRXQWLQJSROLFLHVLQQRWH

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· give a true and fair view of the state of the Company's affairs as at 30 September 2023 and of its UHWXUQIRUWKH\HDU WKHQHQGHG
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We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) ("ISAs (UK)") and applicable law. 2XUUHVSRQVLELOLWLHVDUHGHVFULEHGEHORZ:HEHOLHYHWKDWWKHDXGLWHYLGHQFHZHKDYHREWDLQHGLVDVXIILFLHQWDQG DSSURSULDWHEDVLVIRURXURSLQLRQ2XUDXGLWRSLQLRQLVFRQVLVWHQWZLWKRXUUHSRUWWRWKH\$XGLW&RPPLWWHH

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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of abrdn Equity Income Trust plc

Continued

3. Our application of materiality and an overview of the scope of our audit

Materiality for the financial statements as a whole was set at \$1.70 million (2022: £1.85 million), determined with reference to a benchmark of total assets, of which it represents 1% (2022: 1%).

In line with our audit methodology, our procedures on individual account balances and disclosures were performed to a lower threshold, performance materiality, so as to reduce to an acceptable level the risk that individually immaterial misstatements in individual account balances add up to a material amount across the financial statements as a whole.

Performance materiality was set at 75% (2022: 75%) of materiality for the financial statements as a whole, which equates to \$1.275 million (2022: \$1.370 million). We applied this percentage in our determination of performance materiality because we did not identify any factors indicating an elevated level of risk.

In addition, we applied a lower materiality of £0.57 million (2022: £0.63 million) to the income balance, and materiality of \$1,000 to Director's remuneration, for which we believe misstatements of lesser amounts than materiality for the Financial Statements as a whole could be reasonably expected to influence the Company's members' assessment of the financial performance of the Company.

We agreed to report to the Audit Committee any corrected identified misstatements exceeding £0.85 million (2022: £0.09 million), in addition to other identified misstatements that warranted reporting on qualitative grounds.

Our audit of the Company was undertaken to the materiality level specified above and was performed by a single audit team

The scope of the audit work performed was fully substantive as we did not rely upon the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

4. Going concern

The Directors have prepared the financialstatements on the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate the Company or to cease its operations, and as they have concluded that the Company's financial position means that this is realistic. They have also concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt over its ability to continue as a going concern for at least a year from the financial statements ("the going concern period").

We used our knowledge of the Company, its industry, and the general economic environment to identify the inherent risks to its business model and analysed how those risks might affect the Company's financial resources or ability to continue operations over the going concern period. The risks that we considered most likely to adversely affect the Company's available financial resources and its ability to operate over this period were:

· The impact of a significant reduction of investments and the implications for the Company's debt covenants;
· The liquidity of the investment portfolio and its ability to meet the liabilities of the Company as and when they fall due; and
· The operational resilience of key service organisations.

We considered whether these risks could plausibly affect the liquidity in the going concern period by assessing the degree of downside assumption that, individually and collectively, could result in a liquidity issue, taking into account the Company's current and projected cash and liquid investment position (and the results of a reverse stress test).

We considered whether the going concern disclosure in note 1 to the financial statements gives a full and accurate description of going concern, including the identified risks and related sensitivities.

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· enquiries of Directors as to the Company's highOHYHOSROLFLHVDQGSURFHGXUHVWRSUHYHQWDQGGHWHFWIUDXGDVZHOODV ZKHWKHUWKH\KDYHNQRZOHGJHRIDQ\DFWXDOVXVSHFWHGRUDOOHJHGIUDXG
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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of abrdn Equity Income Trust plc

Continued

The potential effect of these laws and regulations on the financial statements varies considerably.

Firstly, the Company is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting legislation (including related companies legislation), distributable profits legislation as an Investment Trust under UK taxation legislation, any breach of which could lead to the Company losing various deductions and exemptions from UK corporation tax, and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

We assessed the legality of the distributions made by the Company in the period based on comparing the dividends paid to the distributable reserves prior to each distribution, including consideration of accounts filed during the year.

Secondly, the Company is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: money laundering, data protection, bribery and corruption legislation and certain aspects of company legislation recognising the financial and regulated nature of the Company's activities and its legal form. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Directors and the Administrator and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Therefore, if a breach of operational regulations is not disclosed to us or evident from relevant correspondence, an audit will not detect that breach.

Context of the ability of the audit to detect fraud or breaches of law or regulation

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our auditin accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it.

In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of fraud, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. Our audit procedures are designed to detect material misstatement. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance or fraud and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

6. We have nothing to report on the other information in the Annual Report

The Directors are responsible for the other information presented in the Annual Report together with the financial statements. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except as explicitly stated below, any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether, based on our financial statements audit work, the information therein is materially misstated or inconsistent with the financial statements or our audit knowledge. Based solely on that work we have not identified material misstatements in the other information.

Strategic Report and Directors' report

Based solely on our work on the other information:

· we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report and the Directors' Report;
· in our opinion the information given in those reports for the financial year is consistent with the financial statements; and
· in our opinion those reports have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

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Directors' Remuneration Report

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· the Directors' statement that they consider that the annual report and financial statements taken as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable, and provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's SRVLWLRQDQGSHUIRUPDQFHEXVLQHVVPRGHODQGVWUDWHJ\
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Statement of Comprehensive Income

		2023			2022
	Notes	Revenue £'000	Capital £,000	Total £'000	Revenue £,000	Capital £'000	Total £'000
Net losses on investments at fair value	9	-	(6,443)	(6,443)		(24,281)	(24,281)
Currency (losses)/gains			(1)	(1)		1	1
Income	2	12,598	-	12,598	13,517		13,517
Investment management fee	3	(302)	(704)	(1,006)	(335)	(782)	(1,117)
Administrative expenses	4	(508)		(508)	(464)		(464)
Net return before finance costs and taxation		11,788	(7,148)	4,640	12,718	(25,062)	(12,344)
Finance costs	5	(401)	(936)	(1,337)	(149)	(347)	(496)
Return before taxation		11,387	(8,084)	3,303	12,569	(25,409)	(12,840)
Taxation	6	(278)		(278)	(325)		(325)
Return after taxation		11,109	(8,084)	3,025	12,244	(25,409)	(13,165)

Return per Ordinary share	8	23.43p	(17.05p)	6.38p	25.51p	(52.93p)	(27.42p)

The total column of this statement represents the profit and loss account of the Company.

All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.

The accompanying notes on pages 74 to 89 are an integral part of the financial statements.

Statement of Financial Position

	Notes	2023 £,000	2022 £,000
Fixed assets
Investments at fair value through profit or loss	9	165,734	179,730

Current assets
Debtors	10	1,611	2,343
Investments in AAA-rated money market funds		3,027	2,503
Cash and short-term deposits		1,196	1,054
		5,834	5,900

Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Bank loan	11	(20,941)	(24,979)
Other creditors	11	(754)	(3,152)
		(21,695)	(28,131)
Net current liabilities		(15,861)	(22,231)
Net assets		149,873	157,499

Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital	12	12,295	12,295
Share premium account		52,043	52,043
Capital redemption reserve		12,616	12,616
Capital reserve	13	62,735	70,276
Revenue reserve		10,184	10,269
Equity shareholders' funds		149,873	157,499

Net asset value per Ordinary share	14	314.55p	331.77p

The financial statements on pages 71 to 89 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 29 November 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Sarika Patel

Chair

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

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lnvestments are recognised and de-recognised at trade date where a purchase or sale is under a contract whose terms require delivery to be made within the timeframe established by the market concerned initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition, investments are valued at fair value. For listed investments, this is deemed to be bid market prices or closing prices for SETS stocks sourced from the London Stock Exchange. SETS is the London Stock Exchange electronic trading service covering most of the FTSE All-Share and the most liquid AIM constituents.

Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value are included in net profit or loss for the period as a capital item in the Statement of Comprehensive Income and are ultimately recognised in the capital reserve.

(c) Investments in AAA-rated money market funds investments are used by the Company to provide additional short term liquidity. Due to their short term nature, they are recognised in the Financial Statements as a current asset and are included at fair value through profit and loss.

The Company invests in a AAA-rated money-market fund, Aberdeen Standard Liquidity Fund, which is managed by abrah Investments Limited. The share class of the money market fund in which the Company invests does not charge a management fee.

(d) Income. Income from equity investments, including taxes deducted at source, is included in revenue by reference to the date on which the investment is quoted ex-dividends are credited to revenue or capital according to the circumstances. Foreign income is converted at the exchange rate applicable at the time of receivable on cash at bank and in hand and on the money market fund is accounted for on an accruals basis.
(e) Expenses and interest payable. Expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenses are charged to capital when they are incurred in connection with the maintenance or enhancement of the value of investments. In this respect, the investment management fee and relevant finance costs are allocated between revenue and capital in line with the Board's expectation of returns from the Company's investments over the long term in the form of revenue and capital respectively (see notes 3 and 5).

Transaction costs incurred on the purchase and disposal of investments are recognised as a capital item in the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

(f) Dividends payable. Interim dividends are accounted for when they are accounted on the date that they are approved by shareholders.

(g) Capital and reserves

Called-up share capital. Share capital represents the nominal value of Ordinary shares issued. This reserve is not distributable.

Share premium account. The share premium account represents the premium above nominal value received by the Company on issuing shares net of issue costs. This reserve is not distributable.

Capital redemption reserve. The capital reserve represents the nominal value of Ordinary shares repurchased and cancelled. This reserve is not distributable.

Capital reserve. Gains or losses on realisation of investments and changes in fair values of investments are included within the capital reserve. The capital element of the management finance costs are charged to this reserve. Any associated tax relief is also credited to this reserve represented by realised capital gains is available for distribution by way of a dividend and for the purpose of funding share buybacks.

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7KH&RPSDQ\KDVDQDJUHHPHQWZLWKDEUGQ Fund Managers Limited ("aFML") for the provision of management services, XQGHUZKLFKLQYHVWPHQWPDQDJHPHQWVHUYLFHVKDYHEHHQGHOHJDWHGWRDEUGQ,QYHVWPHQW0DQDJHPHQW/LPLWHG7KHFRQWUDFW is terminable by either party on not less than six months' notice.

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Notes to the Financial Statements

Continued

Administrative expenses 4.

	2023 £,000	2022 £,000
Directors' fees	127	105
Employers' National Insurance	7	4
Fees payable to the Company's Auditor (excluding VAT):
- for the audit of the annual financial statements	୧୧	40
Professional fees	14	52
Depositary fees	19	22
Promotional activitiesA	109	103
Other expenses	167	238
	508	564

4 The Company has an agreement with af M. for the provisional activities. Fees paid under the agreement during the year were \$109,000 (2022 -£103,000). At 30 September 2023, £27,000 was due to aFML (2022 – £166,000).

With the exception of fees payable to the Company's auditor, irrecoverable VAT has been included under the relevant expense line above. Irrecoverable VAT on fees payable to the Company's auditor is included within other expenses.

The Company has no employees.

5. Finance costs

	2023 £,000	2022 £'000
On bank loans and overdrafts:
Charged to revenue reserve	401	149
Charged to capital reserve	૭૩૯	347
	1,337	496

Finance costs are chargeable 30% to revenue and 70% to capital (see note 1(e)).

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Notes to the Financial Statements

Continued

7.

	2023 £'000	2022 £'0000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Fourth interim dividend for 2022 of 6.50p per share (2021 - 5.6Up)	3,079	2,690
First interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 5.40p)	2,700	2,594
Second interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 5.40p)	2,700	2,594
Third interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 5.4Up)	2,715	2,583
	11,194	10,461

The fourth interim dividend of 5.70p per Ordinary share, payable on 8 January 2024 to shareholders on the register on 8 December 2023 has not been included as a liability in the financial statements.

The total dividends paid and proposed in respect of the financial year, which is the basis on which the requirements of Sections 1158–1159 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 are considered, are set out below.

	2023 £'000	2022 £'000
First interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 5.40p)	2,700	2,594
Second interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 5.40p)	2,700	2,594
Third interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 5.40p)	2,715	2,583
Fourth interim dividend for 2023 of 5.70p per share (2022 - 6.50p)	2,724	3,079
	10,839	10,850

8. Return per Ordinary share

	2023			2022
	£'000	p	£'000	p
Basic
Revenue return	11,109	23.43	12,244	25.51
Capital return	(8,084)	(17.05)	(25,409)	(52.93)
Total return	3,025	6.38	(13,165)	(27.42)

Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue^		47,415,968		48,004,224

A Calculated excluding shares held in Treasury where applicable.

9. Investments

	2023 £'000	2022 £,000
Fair value through profit or loss
Opening book cost	195,060	191,866
Opening fair value (losses)/gains on investments held	(15,330)	15,552
Opening fair value	179,730	207,418
Movements in the year:
Purchases at cost	46,738	40,986
Sales - proceeds	(54,291)	(44,393)
Losses on investments	(6,443)	(24,281)
Closing fair value	165,734	179,730

Closing book cost	183,673	195,060
Closing fair value losses on investments held	(17,939)	(15,330)
Closing fair value	165,734	179,730

The Company received £54,291,000 (2022 – £44,393,000) from investments sold in the year. The book cost of these investments when they were purchased was £58,125,000 (2022 – £37,797,000). These investments have been revalued over time and until they were sold any unrealised gains/(losses) were included in the fair value of the investments.

Transaction costs. During the year, expenses were incurred in acquiring of investments classified as fair value through profit or loss. These have been expensed through capital and are included within losses on investments in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. The total costs were as follows:

	2023 £'000	2022 £,000
Purchases	206	201
Sales	37	30
Total	243	231

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12. Called-up share capital

	2023 £'000	2022 £'000
Issued and fully paid:
Ordinary shares of 25p each
Opening balance of 47,471,939 (2022 – 48,033,474) Ordinary shares	11,868	12,009
Buyback of 100,417 (2022 - 561,535) Ordinary shares	(25)	(141)
lssue of 275,000 (2022 - nil) Ordinary shares	69
Closing balance of 47,646,522 (2022 - 47,471,939) Ordinary shares	11,912	11,868

Treasury shares
Opening balance of 1,706,828 (2022 – 1,145,293) Treasury shares	427	286
Buyback of 100,417 (2022 – 561,535) Ordinary shares to Treasury	25	141
lssue of 275,000 (2022 - nil) Ordinary shares from Treasury	(69)
Closing balance of 1,532,245 (2022 - 1,706,828) treasury shares	383	427

	12,295	12.295

During the year, 100,417 Ordinary shares (2022 –561,535) were repurchased for a consideration of £315,000 (2022 – \$1,806,000), and 275,000 Ordinary shares (2022 –nil) were issued from Treasury for a consideration of £858,000 (2022 – &nil). At the year end the number of shares held in Treasury was 1,532,245 (2022 – 1,706,828).

Subsequent to the year end, a further 135,000 Ordinary shares were issued from Treasury for a consideration of £403,000.

Notes to the Financial Statements

Continued

13. Capital reserve

	2023 £'0000	2022 £'000
Opening balance	70,276	97,491
Unrealised losses on investment holdings	(2,612)	(30,877)
(Losses)/ Gains on realisation of investments at fair value	(3,831)	6,596
Currency (losses)/gains	(1)	1
Investment management fee charged to capital	(704)	(782)
Finance costs charged to capital	(936)	(347)
Buyback of Ordinary shares into treasury	(315)	(1,806)
Issue of Ordinary shares from treasury	858
Closing balance	62,735	70,276

The capital reserve includes investment holding losses amounting to £17,939,000.00 (2022 – losses of £15,330,000) as disclosed in note 9.

14. Net asset value per share

The net asset value per share and the net assets attributable to Ordinary shares at the year calculated in accordance with the Articles of Association were as follows:

	2023	2022
Basic
Total shareholders' funds (£'000)	149,873	157,499
Number of Ordinary shares in issue at year endA	47,646,522	47,471,939
Net asset value per share	314.55p	331.77p

A Excludes shares in issue held in treasury where applicable.

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Notes to the Financial Statements

Continued

Interest rate profile

The interest rate risk profile of the portfolio of financial assets and liabilities at the Statement of Financial Position date was as follows:

As at 30 September 2023	Weighted average period for which rate is fixed Years	Weighted average interest rate %	Fixed rate £,000	Floating rate £,000
Assets
lnvestments in AAA-rated money-market funds		5.38	-	3,027
Cash deposits		3.69	-	1,196
Total assets	1	-	-	4,223
Liabilities
Bank loans	0.22	6.68	20,941	-
Total liabilities	-	-	20,941	-

As at 30 September 2022	Weighted average interest rate %	Fixed rate £,000	Floating rate £,000
Assets
lnvestments in AAA-rated money-market funds	6.67		2,503
Cash deposits		-	1,054
Total assets			3,557
Liabilities
Bank loans	2.79	24,979
Total liabilities		24,979

The weighted average interest rate is based on the current yield of each asset, weighted by its market value. The weighted average interest rate on bank loans is based on the interest rate payable, weighted by the total value of the loans.

The floating rate assets consist of investments in AAA-rated money-market funds and cash deposits on call earning interest at prevailing market rates.

All financial liabilities are measured at amortised cost.

Maturity profile. The Company did not hold any assets at 30 September 2023 or 30 September 2022 that had a maturity date. The £21 million (2022 - £25 million) Joan drawn down had a maturity date of 21 December 2023 (2022 - 30 November 2022) at the Statement of Financial Position date.

Interest rate sensitivity. The sensitivity analysis below have been determined based on the exposure to interest rates at the Statement of Financial Position date and with the stipulated change taking place at the beginning of the financial year and held constant throughout the reporting period in the case of instruments that have floating rates.

If interest rates had been 100 basis points higher or lower and all other variables were held constant, the Company's :

profit for the year ended 30 September 2023 would decrease by £168,000 (2022 - decrease/increase by \$214,000). This is mainly attributable to the Company's exposure to interest rates on its fixed rate borrowings and floating rate cash balances.

Currency risk. All of the Company's investments are in Sterling. The Company can be exposed to currency risk when it receives dividends in currencies other than Sterling. The current policy is not to hedge this risk but this policy is kept under constant review by the Board.

Other price risk. Other price risks (ie changes in market prices other than those arising from interest rate or currency risk) may affect the value of the quoted investments.

It is the Board's policy to hold an appropriate spread of investments in the portfolio in order the risk arising from factors specific to a particular sector. The Manager actively monitors market prices throughout the year and reports to the Board. The investments held by the Company are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Other price risk sensitivity. If market prices at the Statement of Financial Position date had been 10% higher while all other variables remained constant, the return attributable to ordinary shareholders and equity for the year ended 30 September 2023 would have increased by \$16,573,000 (2022 - increase/decrease of \$17,973,000). This is based on the Company's equity portfolio held at each year end.

(ii) Liquidity risk. This is the risk that the Company will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities

Liquidity risk is not considered to be significant as the Company's assets comprise mainly readly realisable securities, which can be sold to meet funding commitments if necessary. Short-term flexibility is achieved through the use of loan and overdraft facilities (note 11).

(ii) Credit risk. This is failure of the counterparty to a transaction to discharge its obligations under that could result in the Company suffering a loss.

The risk is not significant, and is managed as follows:

– where the investment manager makes an investment in a bond, corporate or otherwise, the credit rating of the issuer is taken into account so as to minimise the risk to the Company of default;

– investment transactions are carried out with a large number of brokers, whose credit-standing and credit rating is reviewed periodically by the investment manager, and limits are set on the amount that may one broker;

cash and money invested in AAA money market funds are held only with reputable institutions.

None of the Company's financial assets are secured by collateral or other credit enhancements.

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The Company's capital management objectives are:

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Net gearing

Net gearing measures the total borrowings less cash and cash equivalents divided by Shareholders' funds, expressed as a percentage. Under AlC reporting guidance cash and cash equivalents includes amounts due from and to brokers at the period end as well as cash and short-term deposits.

		30 September 2023 £,000	30 September 2022 £'000
Total borrowings	ರ	20,941	24,979
Cash and short-term deposits		1,196	1,054
lnvestments in AAA-rated money-market funds		3,027	2,503
Amounts due from brokers		148	9
Amounts payable to brokers		(305)	(2,247)
Total cash and investments in AAA-rated money-market funds	b	4,066	1,319
Gearing (borrowings less cash & investments in AAA-rated money- market funds)	c=(a-b)	16,875	23,660
Shareholders' funds	ರ	149,873	157,499
Net gearing	e=(c/d)	11.3%	15.0%

Ongoing charges ratio

The ongoing charges ratio has been calculated in accordance issued by the AIC, which is defined as the total of investment management fees and recurring administrative expenses and expressed as a percentage of the average daily net asset values published throughout the period.

		30 September 2023 £,000	30 September 2022 £'000
Investment management fees		1,006	1,117
Administrative expenses		508	464
Less: non-recurring charges^		(27)	(42)
Ongoing charges	ರ	1,487	1,539
Average net assets	b	158,676	178,283
Ongoing charges ratio (excluding look-through costs)	c=(a/b)	0.94%	0.86%
Look-through costsB	ರ	0.00%	0.05%
Ongoing charges ratio (including look-through costs)	e=c+d	0.94%	0.91%

A Comprises professional fees not expected to recur.

ª Calculated in accordance with All Crober 2020 to include the Company's share of costs of holdings in investment companies on a lock-through basis.

Alternative Performance Measures

Continued

The ongoing charges ratio provided in the Company's Key Information Document is calculated in line with the PRIPs regulations, which includes financing and transaction costs.

Total return

NAV and share price total returns show how the NAV and share price has period of time in percentage terms, taking into account both capital returns and dividends paid to share price and NAV totalreturns are monitored against openended and closed-ended competitors, and the Reference Index, respectively.

Year ended 30 September 2023		NAV	Share Price
Opening at 1 October 2022	ರ	331.8p	302.5p
Closing at 30 September 2023	b	314.6p	314.0p
Price movements	c=(b/a)-1	(5.2%)	3.8%
Dividend reinvestment^	ರ	7.0%	7.6%
Total return	c+d	1.8%	11.4%

Year ended 30 September 2022		NAV	Share Price
Opening at 1 October 2021	ರ	380.8p	349.0p
Closing at 30 September 2022	0	331.8p	302.5p
Price movements	c=(b/a)-1	(12.9%)	(13.3%)
Dividend reinvestmentA	ರ	5.3%	5.5%
Total return	c+d	(7.6%)	(7.8%)

"NAV total return involves in e net diviend in the Company with debt at fair value on the dairidend goes ex-dividend Share price total return involves reinvesting the net dividend in the share price of the Company on the date on which that dividend.

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The Company's Manager is a subsidiary of abrdn plc. The abrdn Group's assets under management and administration were £496 billion as at 30 June 2023.

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Investor Information

Continued

Financial Advisers

To find an adviser who recommends on investment trusts visit: unbiased.co.uk.

Regulation of Stockbrokers

Before approaching a stockbroker, always check that they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: fca.org.uk/firms/financial-services-register

How to Attend and Vote at Company Meetings

Investors who hold their shares through a platform or share plan provider (for example Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor or AJ Bell) and would like to attend and vote at Company meetings (including AGMs) should contact their platform or share plan provider directly to make arrangements.

Investors who hold their shares through platforms and have their shares held through platform nominees, may not necessarily receive notification of general meetings and are advised to keep themselves informed of Company business by referring to the Company's website. Where voting is required, and the Board encourages shareholders to vote at all general meetings of the Company, shareholders with their holdings in nominees, need to instruct the nominee to vote on their behalf and should do so in good time before the meetings.

Keeping You Informed

Further information about the Company may be found on its dedicated website: abrdnequityincome.com.

This provides access to information on the Company's share price performance, capital structure, London Stock Exchange announcements, current and historic Annual and Half-Yearly Reports, and the latest monthly factsheet on the Company issued by the Manager.

Details are also available at: invtrusts.co.uk.

Twitter: @abrdnTrusts

LinkedIn: abrdn Investment Trusts

Key Information Document ("KID")

The KID relating to the Company and published by the Manager can be found on the Company's website.

Suitable for Retail/NMPI Status

The Company's shares are intended for investors, primarily in the UK, including retail investors, professionallyadvised private clients and institutional investors. Investors should consider consulting a financial adviser who specialises in advising on the acquisition of shares and other securities before acquiring shares. Investors should be capable of evaluating the risks and merits of such an investment and should have sufficient resources to bear any loss that may result.

The Company currently conducts its affairs so that the securities issued by the Company can be recommended by a financial adviser to ordinary retail investors in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's rules in relation to non-mainstream pooled investments ("NMPIs") and intends to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The Company's securities are excluded from the Financial Conduct Authority's restrictions which apply to NMPIs because they are securities issued by an investment trust.

Note

Please remember that past performance is not a guide to the future. Stock market and currency movements may cause the value of shares and the income from them to fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount they originally invested.

As with all equity investments, the value of investment trusts purchased will immediately be reduced by the difference between the buying and selling prices of the shares, the market maker's spread.

lnvestors should further bear in mind that the value of any tax relief will depend on the individual circumstances of the investor and that tax rates and reliefs, as well as the tax treatment of ISAs, may be changed by future legislation.

The information on pages 95 and 96 has been approved for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended by the Financial Services Act 2012) by abrdn Fund Managers Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.

Glossary of Terms

abrdn Group or abrdn plc

The abrdn plc group of companies.

AFML or AIFM or Manager

abrdn Fund Managers Limited ("AFML"), is a wholly owned subsidiary of abrdn Holdings Limited, which is part of abrdn, and acts as the alternative investment fund manager ("AIFM") for the Company. AFML is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Manager has delegated portfolio management to abrdn Investment Management Limited.

AIC

The Association of Investment Companies.

AIFMD

The UK version of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and all implanting and delegating legislation thereunder, as it forms part of UK law following the UK's departure from the EU. The AIFMD was originally European legislation which created a European-wide framework for regulating managers of 'alternative investment funds' ("AlFs"). It is designed to regulate any fund which is not a UCITS fund and which is managed and/or marketed in the EU ( and, now, separately, the UK ). The Company has been designated as an AIF.

Alternative Performance Measures or APMs

Numerical measures of the Company's current, historical or future performance, financial position, other than the financial measures defined or specified in the applicable financial framework. The Company's applicable financial framework includes FRS102 and the AIC SORP.

Capital Return Per Share

The realised and unrealised gains and losses of the investment portfolio net of costs, interest and tax of the Company that have been allocated to capital, divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year.

Closed-End Fund

A collective investment scheme which has a fixed number of shares which are not redeemable from the fund itself. Unlike open-ended funds, new shares/units are not created by managers to meet demand from investors; instead, shares are purchased (or sold) only in the market. Closed-end funds are normally listed on a recognised stock exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange, and shares can be bought and sold on that exchange.

Depositary

A depositary is responsible for cash monitoring, the custody and safeguarding of the Company's financial instruments and monitoring the Company's compliance with investment limits and leverage requirements. The Company's Depositary is BNP Paribas Trust Corporation UK Limited.

Discount

The amount by which the market price per share of an Investment Trust is lower than the Net Asset Value per share. The discount is normally expressed as a percentage of the Net Asset Value per share.

Dividend Cover

Revenue Return Per Share divided by dividends per share expressed as a ratio.

Dividend per Share or DPS

The total of all dividends paid by the Company for the financial year on a per share basis.

Dividend Yield

The annual dividend expressed as a percentage of the share price.

Earnings per Share or EPS

The net income after tax of the Company divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year. In an Investment Trust this is made up of Revenue Return Per Share and Capital Return Per Share.

ESG

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, which are considered in all investment decisions.

Ex-dividend date ("XD date")

The day before the Record Date. The XD date is normally about a month before the dividend is paid.

FCA

Financial Conduct Authority.

Gearing or Net Gearing

Gearing is calculated by dividing total borrowings less cash and cash equivalents by Shareholders' Funds, expressed as a percentage.

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Realised Gains / Losses

The profit / loss on the sale of investments during the year.

Record Date

The date when an investor needs to be holding a share in order to qualify for a forthcoming dividend.

Relative Performance

Performance of the Company relative to the FTSE All-Share Index.

Retail Prices Index ("RPI")

One of the main measures of consumer inflation in the UK, produced by the Office for National Statistics.

Revenue Return Per Share

The net income from dividends and interest received, after costs, interest and tax allocated to revenue, divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year.

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The total of undistributed revenue earnings from prior years. This is available for distribution to shareholders by way of dividend.

Total Assets

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DEUGQ)XQG0DQDJHUVLimited ("AFML") and the Company are required to make certain disclosures available to investors in accordance with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ("AIFMD"). Those disclosures that are UHTXLUHGWREHPDGHSUHLQYHVWPHQWDUHLQFOXGHGZLWKLQDSUHinvestment disclosure document ("PIDD") which can be found on the Company's website.

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General

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The Annual General Meeting of abrdn Equity Income Trust plc will be held at wallacespace Spitalfields, 15-25 Artillery Lane, London, E1 7HA on Tuesday, 20 February 2024 at 11:30 am.

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To receive and adopt the Directors' Report and financial statements of the Company for the year ended 30 6HSWHPEHU, together with the independent Auditor's report thereon.
To receive and approve the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 30 September 20
To approve the Company's dividend policy to pay four interim dividends per annum.
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a) expires at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or on the expiry of 15 months from the passing of this resolution, whichever is the earlier, unless previously revoked, varied, extended or renewed by the Company in a general meeting, save that the Company may, at any time prior to the expiry of this authority, make an offer or enter into an agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or sold out of treasury after such expiry and the Directors may allot or sell out of treasury equity securities in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the power conferred hereby had not expired; and
b) shall be limited to the allotment, or sale out of treasury, of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal value of £1,194,538, being approximately 10% of the nominal value of the issued share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares), as at the date of this notice.
1. That, in substitution for any existing authority, but without prejudice to the exercise of any such authority prior to the date of the passing of this resolution, the Company be and is hereby generally and, subject as hereinafter appears, unconditionally authorised in accordance with Section 701 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") to make market purchases (within the meaning of Section 693(4) of the Act) of Ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the Company (the "Shares") either for retention as treasury shares for future reissue, resale or transfer, or for cancellation provided always that:
2. a) the maximum number of Shares hereby authorised to be purchased shall be 7,162,450, or, if less, the number representing approximately 14.99% of the Company's issued share capital (excluding shares held in treasury) at the date of the passing of this resolution;
3. b) the minimum price (exclusive of expenses) which may be paid for each Share shall be 25p;
4. c) the maximum price (exclusive of expenses) which may be paid for a Share is the higher of (i) 105% of the average of the middle market quotations (as derived from the Daily Official List of the London Stock Exchange) for the Shares over the five business days immediately preceding the date of purchase and (ii) the higher of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid on the trading venue which the purchase is carried out; and
5. d) the authority hereby conferred shall expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or on the expiry of 15 months from the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier, unless previously revoked, varied, extended or renewed by the Company in a general meeting, save that the Company may, at any time prior to the expiry of this authority, enter into a contract to purchase shares under such authority which will or might be completed wholly or partly after the expiration of such authority and may make a purchase of Shares pursuant to any such contract.
1. That a general meeting other than an Annual General Meeting may be called on not less than 14 clear days 'notice.

By order of the Board abrdn Holdings Limited Company Secretary 29 November 2023

Registered Office 280 Bishopsgate London EC2M 4AG

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Continued

Notes

i. A shareholder entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint one or more proxies to attend, speak and vote instead of him/her or on his/her behalf at the meeting. A proxy need not be a shareholder may appoint more than one proxy, provided that each proxy is appointed to attend, speak and vote in respect of a different share or shares. If you wish your proxy to speak on your behalf at the meeting, you will need to appoint your own choice of proxy (not the Chair of the meeting) and give instructions directly to them. Appointing a proxy will not prevent a shareholder from attending in person and voting at the meeting. A proxy form which may be used to make such appointment and give proxy instructions accompanies this notice. If you do not have a proxy form and believe that you should, or if you would like to appoint more than one proxy, please contact the Company's Registrar, Computershare Investor Services PLC on 0370 707 1150. In the case of joint holders, the vote of the first named in the register of members of the Company who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of other joint holders.
ii. To be valid, the appointment of a proxy, and the original or duly certified copy of the power of attorney or other authority, if any, under which it is signed or authenticated, should be sent to the Company's Registrar, Computershare Investor Services PLC, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS99 6ZZ so as to arrive not less than 48 hours (excluding non-working days) before the time fixed for the meeting.
ii. Pursuant to Regulation 41 of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001, the Company specifies that only those shareholders registered in the register of members of the Company at close of business on 16 February 2024 (or, if the meeting is adjourned, 48 hours (excluding non-working days) before the time fixed for the adjourned meeting) shall be entitled to attend or vote at the meeting in respect of the number of Ordinary shares registered in their name at that time. In each case, changes to entries on the register of members of the Company after that time shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend or vote at the meeting.
iv. Any shareholder holding 3% or more of the total voting rights of the Company who appoints a person other than the Chair of the meeting as his or her proxy(ies) will need to ensure that both he or she and his/her proxy(ies) comply with their respective disclosure obligations under the FCA Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
v. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so for the meeting and any adjournment(s) thereof by utilising the procedures described in the CREST Manual and/or by logging in to the website www.euroclear.com/CREST. CREST personal members or other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a voting service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf.
vi. In order for a proxy appointment made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & International Limited's ("EU") specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The message must be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID number 3RA50) by 11:30 am on 16 February 2024 (or, if the meeting is adjourned, 48 hours (excluding non-working days) before the time fixed for the adjourned meeting). For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST Applications Host) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST.
vii. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that EUl does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST personal member or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
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[YL ,QIRUPDWLRQUHJDUGLQJWKH\$QQXDO*HQHUDO0HHWLQJLQFOXGLQJLQIRUPDWLRQUHTXLUHGE\6HFWLRQ\$RIWKH Companies Act 2006, is available from the Company's website: DEUGQHTXLW\LQFRPHFRP

Contact Addresses

Directors

Sarika Patel (Chair) Caroline Hitch Mark Little Jeremy Tigue Nick Timberlake

Registered Office

280 Bishopsgate l ondon EC2M 4AG

Registered Number

Registered in England & Wales No. 2648152

Alternative Investment Fund Manager

abrdn Fund Managers Limited 1 George Street Edinburgh EH2 2LL

Website Address:

abrdnequityincome.com

Company Secretary

abrdn Holdings Limited 1 George Street Edinburgh EH2 2LL

Independent Auditor

KPMG LLP Saltire Court 20 Castle Terrace Edinburgh EH1 2EG

Solicitor

Dickson Minto W.S. 16 Charlotte Square Edinburgh EH2 4DF

Depositary and Custodian

BNP Paribas Trust Corporation UK Limited 10 Harewood Avenue London NW16AA

Lender

The Royal Bank of Scotland International, London Branch 3rd Floor 440 Strand l ondon WC2R0QS

Stockbroker

J.P.Morgan Cazenove 29th Floor 25 Bank Street London E14 5JP

Registrar

Computershare Investor Services PLC The Pavilions Bridgwater Road Bristol BS99 6ZZ

Telephone: 0370 707 1150

For more information visit abrdnequityincome.com

AI Terminal

abrdn Equity Income Trust plc

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Performance Highlights

Dividends per share

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Chair's Statement

Earnings

Dividends

Results

Premium & Discount

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Management Agreement

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