16 we continue to focus on reducing product costs and improving manufacturing efficiencies across all of our businesses . we started our “ 80/20 ” efficiency initiatives in 2010 , and they have been a critical part of the steady improvement in our margins . our 80/20 initiatives have also helped us to focus on delivering the right products and services at the right prices to better capture the value-add that we create . leveraging invested capital we remain focused on return on invested capital ( “ roic ” ) in 2015 and we continue to use an roic metric in our long-term incentive compensation programs . this increased focus contributed to a significant year-over-year improvement in roic , which we define as net operating profit after taxes divided by average invested capital . we continue to adapt our flexible manufacturing model which allows us to shift production among facilities to optimize capacity and capabilities . the sale of our bronto skylift business removed a low-margin operation that required a disproportionate amount of invested capital . we continue to generate strong cash flow from our improved operating performance , with cash flow provided by continuing operations for the year ended december 31 , 2015 of $ 91.1 million , up 12 % compared to 2014 . the cash generated from operations has helped us to significantly increase our cash position , return value to shareholders and reduce our total debt . at december 31 , 2015 , cash and cash equivalents exceeded total debt by $ 31.9 million , compared to a net debt balance of $ 26.1 million at december 31 , 2014 . as a result of the reduction in debt , we reduced our interest expense by 36 % in 2015 , to $ 2.3 million from $ 3.6 million in 2014 . our debt leverage remains low , at 0.4 times adjusted ebitda as of december 31 , 2015 . diversifying customer base historically , 60 % or more of our domestic net sales were derived from municipal and other government markets . municipalities will continue to be important customers , and our leadership in municipal and government markets remains a strength of our company . at the same time , our organic and acquisition growth initiatives generally will focus on expanding our industrial customer base . although near-term industrial demand has been soft , notably in relation to oil and gas markets , we continue to believe that industrial markets tend to offer better margin and growth opportunities over the longer term . we have also continued to focus on new product development in 2015 and are encouraged that these efforts will provide additional opportunities to further diversify our customer base . specific examples for industrial markets include investments in new excavator designs to better target utility markets and in internationally certified safety products to expand our global reach . 17 results of operations the following table summarizes our consolidated statements of operations and illustrates the key financial indicators used to assess our consolidated financial results : replace_table_token_4_th year ended december 31 , 2015 vs. year ended december 31 , 2014 net sales net sales decreased by $ 11.1 million , or 1 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the prior year . net sales in the environmental solutions group decreased by $ 2.5 million , with lower sales of vacuum trucks and sewer cleaners being partially offset by improved sales of street sweepers . in the safety and security systems group , net sales were down $ 8.6 million , largely due to an $ 11.4 million reduction in sales of industrial products associated with lower demand within oil and gas markets , as well as an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $ 8.2 million , partially offset by a $ 10.9 million improvement in sales into european public safety markets . cost of sales for the year ended december 31 , 2015 , cost of sales decreased by $ 28.0 million , or 5 % , compared to the prior year , largely driven by a decrease of $ 18.0 million within the environmental solutions group , principally associated with favorable product mix , as well as productivity and capacity improvements at our manufacturing facilities . the safety and security systems group also reported a $ 10.0 million cost of sales reduction , primarily due to a favorable foreign currency impact of $ 6.2 million , as well as favorable sales mix effects . gross profit for the year ended december 31 , 2015 , gross profit increased by $ 16.9 million , or 8 % , compared to the prior year . gross margin for the year ended december 31 , 2015 was 29.4 % , up from 26.8 % in the prior year . the improvement in gross margin was primarily the result of productivity and facilities utilization improvements and improved pricing within the environmental solutions group , as well as favorable product mix and lower costs in the safety and security systems group . 18 selling , engineering , general and administrative expenses seg & a expenses increased by $ 2.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the prior year , largely due to increases of $ 0.8 million within the safety and security systems group , associated with higher engineering expenses for new product development , and $ 0.7 million within corporate , primarily due to increased employee costs . the environmental solutions group also reported a $ 0.5 million increase , primarily due to higher employee compensation costs , partially offset by decreased product liability and workers ' compensation expenses . operating income operating income for the year ended december 31 , 2015 increased by $ 14.5 million , or 16 % , to $ 103.2 million , reflecting an operating margin of 13.4 % compared to 11.4 % in the prior year . story_separator_special_tag orders for street sweepers and sewer cleaners benefited from solid municipal demand and an influx of fleet orders , including significant orders from large municipalities . improved vacuum truck orders are inclusive of hydro-excavation products with applications in industrial markets . non-u.s. orders decreased by $ 0.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. compared with the prior year , orders for street sweepers and sewer cleaners in canada were $ 7.0 million lower , while orders for sewer cleaners in the middle east were also down $ 3.3 million . partially offsetting these decreases were increased orders of $ 8.8 million for street sweepers in the middle east , which were largely driven by a large fleet order during the second quarter of 2014. net sales increased by $ 62.6 million , or 13 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2014. u.s. sales increased $ 43.1 million , primarily driven by increased shipments of vacuum trucks and street sweepers of $ 25.5 million and $ 10.4 million , respectively . vacuum truck shipments exceeded prior-year levels , largely due to increased production throughput and productivity improvements within our manufacturing facilities which have facilitated increased sales of hydro-excavator products . higher sales of street sweepers reflected improving municipal demand . non-u.s. sales increased $ 19.5 million , or 25 % , primarily due to increased street sweeper sales to the middle east and canada , and increased sewer cleaner shipments to mexico and canada . cost of sales increased by $ 33.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. the increase was primarily due to higher sales volumes , which resulted in a $ 31.5 million increase in cost of sales , as well as increased costs associated with product mix relating to higher-content products within our industrial markets , partially offset by productivity improvements . gross margin for the year ended december 31 , 2014 improved to 23.3 % from 20.3 % in the prior year largely due to favorable mix associated with higher sales to industrial customers , including increased shipments of hydro-excavation products . gross margin further benefited from favorable pricing , improved productivity and manufacturing facilities utilization improvements . seg & a expenses increased by $ 5.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. the higher seg & a expenses were largely the result of increased employee incentive and stock-based compensation expense , product liability costs and consulting expenses of $ 1.9 million , $ 1.6 million and $ 1.1 million , respectively . operating income increased by $ 23.7 million , or 41 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2014. the increase in operating income was a result of higher gross profit of $ 28.8 million , primarily attributable to operating leverage and favorable product mix , offset by a $ 5.1 million increase in seg & a expenses . backlog was $ 218.3 million at december 31 , 2014 , up 10 % compared to $ 199.3 million at december 31 , 2013. backlog for street sweepers increased by $ 30.3 million , largely as a result of significant fleet orders , while backlog for sewer cleaners and vacuum trucks declined by $ 12.1 million , primarily as a result of measures taken to increase production capacity to manage backlog and shorten lead times for sewer cleaners and vacuum trucks . 24 safety and security systems the following table summarizes the safety and security systems group 's operating results as of and for the years ended december 31 , 2015 , 2014 and 2013 : replace_table_token_7_th year ended december 31 , 2015 vs. year ended december 31 , 2014 total orders decreased by $ 14.9 million , or 6 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . u.s. orders decreased by $ 4.4 million , primarily due to a $ 5.4 million decrease in orders for outdoor warning systems when compared to the prior year that included two large orders that did not repeat , and a $ 6.8 million decrease in industrial orders attributable to lower demand in oil and gas markets and domestic coal markets . these decreases were partially offset by a $ 7.8 million improvement in orders from public safety markets , largely driven by improved police orders . non-u.s. orders decreased by $ 10.5 million , or 10 % , primarily due to an $ 8.3 million unfavorable foreign currency effect . excluding the unfavorable foreign currency effect , non-u.s orders were adversely impacted by a $ 6.5 million decline in industrial orders , primarily due to softness in the international oil and gas markets , a $ 3.5 million reduction in orders for products sold into international coal markets and a $ 2.8 million decrease in orders for outdoor warning systems . these reductions were offset by a $ 10.6 million increase in orders from european and other international public safety markets associated with improved demand , as well as the effects of several large orders received during the year . net sales decreased by $ 8.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . u.s. sales decreased by $ 3.4 million , largely due to a $ 6.0 million decrease in sales of industrial products , attributable to lower demand in oil and gas markets and domestic coal markets , which was partially offset by a $ 2.7 million improvement in sales into public safety markets . non-u.s. sales decreased by $ 5.2 million , principally due to an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $ 8.2 million . excluding unfavorable foreign currency effects , non-u.s. sales increased by $ 3.0 million , largely due to a $ 10.9 million improvement in sales into european public safety markets and a $ 1.2 million increase in other international public safety markets . these increases were partially offset by a $ 5.4 million reduction in sales of industrial products into international oil and

debt settlement charges there were no debt settlement charges in 2014. in the first quarter of 2013 , the company recorded $ 8.7 million of charges related to the termination of our prior debt facilities . the expenses included the write-off of deferred financing fees of $ 4.5 million and a prepayment penalty of $ 4.2 million . other expense , net other expense , net totaled $ 1.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014 , as compared to $ 0.1 million in the prior year . the increase was largely driven by higher realized losses from foreign currency transactions . income tax ( expense ) benefit the company recognized income tax expense of $ 23.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014 , compared to an income tax benefit of $ 108.6 million in the prior year . the company 's effective tax rate for the year ended december 31 , 2014 was 28.4 % , compared to ( 247.4 ) % in 2013. in the second quarter of 2013 , it was determined that $ 102.4 million of valuation allowance previously recorded against u.s. deferred tax assets could be released . this evaluation was based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of current and expected domestic earnings , industry and market trends , tax planning strategies and general business risks , that resulted in a more likely than not conclusion of being able to realize a significant portion of our u.s. deferred tax assets .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```debt settlement charges there were no debt settlement charges in 2014. in the first quarter of 2013 , the company recorded $ 8.7 million of charges related to the termination of our prior debt facilities . the expenses included the write-off of deferred financing fees of $ 4.5 million and a prepayment penalty of $ 4.2 million . other expense , net other expense , net totaled $ 1.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014 , as compared to $ 0.1 million in the prior year . the increase was largely driven by higher realized losses from foreign currency transactions . income tax ( expense ) benefit the company recognized income tax expense of $ 23.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014 , compared to an income tax benefit of $ 108.6 million in the prior year . the company 's effective tax rate for the year ended december 31 , 2014 was 28.4 % , compared to ( 247.4 ) % in 2013. in the second quarter of 2013 , it was determined that $ 102.4 million of valuation allowance previously recorded against u.s. deferred tax assets could be released . this evaluation was based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of current and expected domestic earnings , industry and market trends , tax planning strategies and general business risks , that resulted in a more likely than not conclusion of being able to realize a significant portion of our u.s. deferred tax assets .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : 16 we continue to focus on reducing product costs and improving manufacturing efficiencies across all of our businesses . we started our “ 80/20 ” efficiency initiatives in 2010 , and they have been a critical part of the steady improvement in our margins . our 80/20 initiatives have also helped us to focus on delivering the right products and services at the right prices to better capture the value-add that we create . leveraging invested capital we remain focused on return on invested capital ( “ roic ” ) in 2015 and we continue to use an roic metric in our long-term incentive compensation programs . this increased focus contributed to a significant year-over-year improvement in roic , which we define as net operating profit after taxes divided by average invested capital . we continue to adapt our flexible manufacturing model which allows us to shift production among facilities to optimize capacity and capabilities . the sale of our bronto skylift business removed a low-margin operation that required a disproportionate amount of invested capital . we continue to generate strong cash flow from our improved operating performance , with cash flow provided by continuing operations for the year ended december 31 , 2015 of $ 91.1 million , up 12 % compared to 2014 . the cash generated from operations has helped us to significantly increase our cash position , return value to shareholders and reduce our total debt . at december 31 , 2015 , cash and cash equivalents exceeded total debt by $ 31.9 million , compared to a net debt balance of $ 26.1 million at december 31 , 2014 . as a result of the reduction in debt , we reduced our interest expense by 36 % in 2015 , to $ 2.3 million from $ 3.6 million in 2014 . our debt leverage remains low , at 0.4 times adjusted ebitda as of december 31 , 2015 . diversifying customer base historically , 60 % or more of our domestic net sales were derived from municipal and other government markets . municipalities will continue to be important customers , and our leadership in municipal and government markets remains a strength of our company . at the same time , our organic and acquisition growth initiatives generally will focus on expanding our industrial customer base . although near-term industrial demand has been soft , notably in relation to oil and gas markets , we continue to believe that industrial markets tend to offer better margin and growth opportunities over the longer term . we have also continued to focus on new product development in 2015 and are encouraged that these efforts will provide additional opportunities to further diversify our customer base . specific examples for industrial markets include investments in new excavator designs to better target utility markets and in internationally certified safety products to expand our global reach . 17 results of operations the following table summarizes our consolidated statements of operations and illustrates the key financial indicators used to assess our consolidated financial results : replace_table_token_4_th year ended december 31 , 2015 vs. year ended december 31 , 2014 net sales net sales decreased by $ 11.1 million , or 1 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the prior year . net sales in the environmental solutions group decreased by $ 2.5 million , with lower sales of vacuum trucks and sewer cleaners being partially offset by improved sales of street sweepers . in the safety and security systems group , net sales were down $ 8.6 million , largely due to an $ 11.4 million reduction in sales of industrial products associated with lower demand within oil and gas markets , as well as an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $ 8.2 million , partially offset by a $ 10.9 million improvement in sales into european public safety markets . cost of sales for the year ended december 31 , 2015 , cost of sales decreased by $ 28.0 million , or 5 % , compared to the prior year , largely driven by a decrease of $ 18.0 million within the environmental solutions group , principally associated with favorable product mix , as well as productivity and capacity improvements at our manufacturing facilities . the safety and security systems group also reported a $ 10.0 million cost of sales reduction , primarily due to a favorable foreign currency impact of $ 6.2 million , as well as favorable sales mix effects . gross profit for the year ended december 31 , 2015 , gross profit increased by $ 16.9 million , or 8 % , compared to the prior year . gross margin for the year ended december 31 , 2015 was 29.4 % , up from 26.8 % in the prior year . the improvement in gross margin was primarily the result of productivity and facilities utilization improvements and improved pricing within the environmental solutions group , as well as favorable product mix and lower costs in the safety and security systems group . 18 selling , engineering , general and administrative expenses seg & a expenses increased by $ 2.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the prior year , largely due to increases of $ 0.8 million within the safety and security systems group , associated with higher engineering expenses for new product development , and $ 0.7 million within corporate , primarily due to increased employee costs . the environmental solutions group also reported a $ 0.5 million increase , primarily due to higher employee compensation costs , partially offset by decreased product liability and workers ' compensation expenses . operating income operating income for the year ended december 31 , 2015 increased by $ 14.5 million , or 16 % , to $ 103.2 million , reflecting an operating margin of 13.4 % compared to 11.4 % in the prior year . story_separator_special_tag orders for street sweepers and sewer cleaners benefited from solid municipal demand and an influx of fleet orders , including significant orders from large municipalities . improved vacuum truck orders are inclusive of hydro-excavation products with applications in industrial markets . non-u.s. orders decreased by $ 0.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. compared with the prior year , orders for street sweepers and sewer cleaners in canada were $ 7.0 million lower , while orders for sewer cleaners in the middle east were also down $ 3.3 million . partially offsetting these decreases were increased orders of $ 8.8 million for street sweepers in the middle east , which were largely driven by a large fleet order during the second quarter of 2014. net sales increased by $ 62.6 million , or 13 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2014. u.s. sales increased $ 43.1 million , primarily driven by increased shipments of vacuum trucks and street sweepers of $ 25.5 million and $ 10.4 million , respectively . vacuum truck shipments exceeded prior-year levels , largely due to increased production throughput and productivity improvements within our manufacturing facilities which have facilitated increased sales of hydro-excavator products . higher sales of street sweepers reflected improving municipal demand . non-u.s. sales increased $ 19.5 million , or 25 % , primarily due to increased street sweeper sales to the middle east and canada , and increased sewer cleaner shipments to mexico and canada . cost of sales increased by $ 33.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. the increase was primarily due to higher sales volumes , which resulted in a $ 31.5 million increase in cost of sales , as well as increased costs associated with product mix relating to higher-content products within our industrial markets , partially offset by productivity improvements . gross margin for the year ended december 31 , 2014 improved to 23.3 % from 20.3 % in the prior year largely due to favorable mix associated with higher sales to industrial customers , including increased shipments of hydro-excavation products . gross margin further benefited from favorable pricing , improved productivity and manufacturing facilities utilization improvements . seg & a expenses increased by $ 5.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. the higher seg & a expenses were largely the result of increased employee incentive and stock-based compensation expense , product liability costs and consulting expenses of $ 1.9 million , $ 1.6 million and $ 1.1 million , respectively . operating income increased by $ 23.7 million , or 41 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2014. the increase in operating income was a result of higher gross profit of $ 28.8 million , primarily attributable to operating leverage and favorable product mix , offset by a $ 5.1 million increase in seg & a expenses . backlog was $ 218.3 million at december 31 , 2014 , up 10 % compared to $ 199.3 million at december 31 , 2013. backlog for street sweepers increased by $ 30.3 million , largely as a result of significant fleet orders , while backlog for sewer cleaners and vacuum trucks declined by $ 12.1 million , primarily as a result of measures taken to increase production capacity to manage backlog and shorten lead times for sewer cleaners and vacuum trucks . 24 safety and security systems the following table summarizes the safety and security systems group 's operating results as of and for the years ended december 31 , 2015 , 2014 and 2013 : replace_table_token_7_th year ended december 31 , 2015 vs. year ended december 31 , 2014 total orders decreased by $ 14.9 million , or 6 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . u.s. orders decreased by $ 4.4 million , primarily due to a $ 5.4 million decrease in orders for outdoor warning systems when compared to the prior year that included two large orders that did not repeat , and a $ 6.8 million decrease in industrial orders attributable to lower demand in oil and gas markets and domestic coal markets . these decreases were partially offset by a $ 7.8 million improvement in orders from public safety markets , largely driven by improved police orders . non-u.s. orders decreased by $ 10.5 million , or 10 % , primarily due to an $ 8.3 million unfavorable foreign currency effect . excluding the unfavorable foreign currency effect , non-u.s orders were adversely impacted by a $ 6.5 million decline in industrial orders , primarily due to softness in the international oil and gas markets , a $ 3.5 million reduction in orders for products sold into international coal markets and a $ 2.8 million decrease in orders for outdoor warning systems . these reductions were offset by a $ 10.6 million increase in orders from european and other international public safety markets associated with improved demand , as well as the effects of several large orders received during the year . net sales decreased by $ 8.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . u.s. sales decreased by $ 3.4 million , largely due to a $ 6.0 million decrease in sales of industrial products , attributable to lower demand in oil and gas markets and domestic coal markets , which was partially offset by a $ 2.7 million improvement in sales into public safety markets . non-u.s. sales decreased by $ 5.2 million , principally due to an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $ 8.2 million . excluding unfavorable foreign currency effects , non-u.s. sales increased by $ 3.0 million , largely due to a $ 10.9 million improvement in sales into european public safety markets and a $ 1.2 million increase in other international public safety markets . these increases were partially offset by a $ 5.4 million reduction in sales of industrial products into international oil and

