entegris seeks to leverage its unique breadth of capabilities to create value for its customers by developing mission-critical solutions to maximize manufacturing yields and enable higher device performance . our technology portfolio includes approximately 20,000 standard and customized products and solutions to achieve the highest levels of purity and performance that are essential to the manufacture of semiconductors , flat panel displays , light emitting diodes , or leds , high-purity chemicals , solar cells , gas lasers , optical and magnetic storage devices , and critical components for aerospace , glass manufacturing and biomedical applications . the majority of our products are consumed at various times throughout the manufacturing process , with demand driven in part by the level of semiconductor and other manufacturing activity . the company 's customers consist primarily of semiconductor manufacturers , semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers as well as thin film transistor-liquid crystal display ( tft-lcd ) and hard disk manufacturers , which are served through direct sales efforts , as well as sales and distribution relationships , in the united states , asia , europe and the middle east . our business is organized and operated in three operating segments which align with the key elements of the advanced semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem . the specialty chemicals and engineered materials ( scem ) segment provides high-performance and high-purity process chemistries , gases , and materials and safe and efficient delivery systems to support semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing processes . the advanced materials handling ( amh ) segment develops solutions to monitor , protect , transport , and deliver critical liquid chemistries and substrates for a broad set of applications in the semiconductor industry and other high-technology industries . the microcontamination control ( mc ) segment offers solutions to purify critical liquid chemistries and gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes and other high-technology industries . while these segments have separate products and technical know-how , they each share a single , global sales force , unified core 28 systems and processes , global technology centers , strategic and technology roadmaps , and a focus on a common set of customers . the company leverages its expertise and technologies from these three segments to create new and increasingly integrated solutions for its customers . see note 15 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information on the company 's three segments . key operating factors key factors , which management believes have the largest impact on the overall results of operations of the company , include : level of sales since a significant portion of the company 's product costs ( except for raw materials , purchased components and direct labor ) are largely fixed in the short-to-medium term , an increase or decrease in sales affects gross profits and overall profitability significantly . also , increases or decreases in sales and operating profitability affect certain costs such as incentive compensation and commissions , which are highly variable in nature . the company 's sales are subject to the effects of industry cyclicality , technological change , substantial competition , pricing pressures and foreign currency fluctuation . variable margin on sales the company 's variable margin on sales is determined by selling prices and the costs of manufacturing and raw materials . this is affected by a number of factors , which include the company 's sales mix , purchase prices of raw material ( especially polymers , membranes , stainless steel and purchased components ) , domestic and international competition , direct labor costs , and the efficiency of the company 's production operations , among others . fixed cost structure the company 's operations include a number of large fixed or semi-fixed cost components , which include salaries , indirect labor and benefits , facility costs , lease expenses , and depreciation and amortization . it is not possible to vary these costs easily in the short-term as volumes fluctuate . accordingly , increases or decreases in sales volume can have a large effect on the usage and productivity of these cost components , resulting in a large impact on the company 's profitability . overall summary of financial results for the year ended december 31 , 2016 total net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 were $ 1,175.3 million , up $ 94.1 million , or 9 % , from sales of $ 1,081.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . exclusive of favorable foreign currency translation effects of $ 13.8 million , the company 's sales increased 7 % , reflecting an increase in overall demand for the company 's products from semiconductor industry customers , particularly in the sale of advanced deposition materials , wafer and reticle handling solutions , and wet etch and cmp products . the sales increase in 2016 was driven primarily by higher volume and the effect of selling price erosion was nominal . semiconductor industry demand in 2016 was driven by slightly improved demand from device makers , as wafer starts and semiconductor unit production increased , higher industry fab utilization rates , and increased capital spending levels . the company believes sales of its products in 2016 exceeded the overall semiconductor industry growth rate . the company 's gross profit rose by $ 38.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , to $ 508.7 million , up from $ 470.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . accordingly , the company reported a 43.3 % gross margin rate compared to 43.5 % in 2015 . the gross profit and gross margin figures in 2016 included $ 6.3 million of charges related to impairment of equipment and severance . excluding those charges , the company 's gross margin for 2016 was 43.8 % . story_separator_special_tag on a geographic basis , in 2016 , total sales to north america were 22 % , to asia pacific were 56 % , to europe were 9 % and to japan were 13 % . in 2015 , total sales to north america were 23 % , to asia pacific were 55 % , to europe were 10 % and to japan were 12 % . from 2015 to 2016 , net sales to customers in japan and asia pacific increased , 19 % , and 12 % , respectively , while net sales to customers in north america and europe were flat . demand drivers for the company 's business primarily consist of semiconductor fab utilization and production ( unit-driven ) as well as capital spending for new or upgraded semiconductor fabrication equipment and facilities ( capital-driven ) . the company analyzes sales of its products by these two key drivers . sales of unit-driven products represented 76 % of total sales and sales of capital-driven products represented 24 % of total sales in 2016 . this compares to a unit-driven to capital-driven ratio of 78 % : 22 % for 2015 . gross profit gross profit for 2016 increased by $ 38.5 million , to $ 508.7 million , an increase of 8 % from $ 470.2 million for 2015 . the gross margin rate for 2016 was 43.3 % versus 43.5 % for 2015 . an analysis of the factors underlying the increase in gross profit is presented in the following table : ( in thousands ) gross profit in 2015 $ 470,231 growth associated with volume and pricing 44,717 decrease associated with impairment of equipment and severance related to organization realignment ( 6,257 ) gross profit in 2016 $ 508,691 the gross profit improvements primarily reflect the growth associated with volume and pricing , offset by charges related to the impairment of equipment and severance related to the organization realignment . excluding the latter item , the company 's gross margin in 2016 was 43.8 % . selling , general and administrative expenses selling , general and administrative expense ( sg & a ) consists primarily of payroll and related expenses for the sales and administrative staff , professional fees ( including accounting , legal and technology costs and expenses ) , and sales and marketing costs . sg & a expenses for 2016 increased $ 3.0 million , or 2 % , to $ 201.9 million from $ 198.9 million in 2015 . sg & a expenses , as a percent of net sales , decreased to 17.2 % from 18.4 % a year earlier , reflecting the increase in net sales . an analysis of the factors underlying the increase in sg & a is presented in the following table : replace_table_token_6_th engineering , research and development expenses engineering , research and development ( er & d ) expenses related to the support of current product lines and the development of new products and manufacturing technologies increased by $ 1.1 million , or 1 % , to $ 107.0 million in 2016 compared to $ 105.9 million in 2015 . er & d expenses as a percent of net sales were 9.1 % compared to 9.8 % a year ago , reflecting the increase in net sales , offset by the increase in er & d expenditure levels , primarily due to higher employee costs . 33 the company 's overall er & d efforts will continue to focus on the support or extension of current product lines , the development of its technologies to create differentiated and high-value , unit-driven products for the most advanced and demanding semiconductor applications and leveraging its unique and diverse technology portfolio to develop innovative , integrated solutions for unmet customer needs . the company expects er & d costs to stay relatively stable as a percentage of net sales . amortization of intangible assets amortization of intangible assets was $ 44.3 million in 2016 compared to $ 47.3 million for 2015 . the decline reflects the absence of amortization expense for certain identifiable non-compete intangible assets acquired in the atmi merger that became fully amortized in early 2016. interest expense interest expense was $ 36.8 million and $ 38.7 million in the years ended december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . interest expense includes interest associated with debt outstanding issued to help fund the acquisition of atmi in 2014 and the amortization of debt issuance costs associated with such borrowings . the decrease in 2016 reflects lower outstanding borrowings due to the company 's payments on its senior secured term loan in 2016 , offset partly by higher amortization of debt issuance costs due to the acceleration of actual and expected payments on the company 's senior secured term loan . other income , net other income , net , was $ 1.0 million in 2016 compared to other expense , net , of $ 12.4 million in 2015 . in 2016 , other income , net , included foreign currency transaction gains of $ 0.6 million and other gains of $ 0.4 million . in 2015 , other income , net , included foreign currency transaction gains of $ 9.1 million and a gain of $ 3.4 million related to the sale of an equity investment . income tax expense the company recorded income tax expense of $ 22.9 million in 2016 compared to income tax expense of $ 10.2 million in 2015 . the company 's effective tax expense rate was 19.0 % in 2016 , compared to an effective tax rate of 11.1 % in 2015 . the increase in the effective tax rate in 2016 from 2015 and the variance in both years from the u.s. statutory rate of 35 % reflects several factors . the effective tax rates in both years reflects a greater concentration in the company 's geographic composition of income toward jurisdictions with lower tax rates

liquidity and capital resources the company has historically financed its operations and capital requirements through cash flow from its operating activities , long-term loans , lease financing and borrowings under domestic and international short-term lines of credit . in fiscal 2000 and 2009 , the company raised capital via public offerings of its common stock . operating activities net cash flow provided by operating activities totaled $ 207.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . cash generated by the company 's operations included net income of $ 97.1 million , as adjusted for the impact of various non-cash charges , most notably depreciation and amortization of $ 99.9 million , and share-based compensation expense of $ 13.4 million . these operating cash flows were partly offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities , mainly due to an increase in accounts receivables and inventories , and an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities . working capital was $ 538.6 million at december 31 , 2016 , which included $ 406.4 million in cash and cash equivalents , an increase from $ 533.2 million as of december 31 , 2015 , which included $ 349.8 million in cash and cash equivalents . accounts receivable increased by $ 24.3 million during 2016 , or $ 25.3 million after accounting for the effect of foreign currency translation . the net increase reflects the year-over-year increase in fourth quarter sales of the company 's products . the company 's days sales outstanding measure ( dso ) stood at 49 days at december 31 , 2016 compared to 48 days at the beginning of the year . inventories at december 31 , 2016 increased by $ 10.4 million from a year earlier , or $ 19.9 million after accounting for foreign currency translation and the provision for excess and obsolete inventory . the net increase reflects higher levels of all categories of inventory , due to higher sales and production activity .


 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.
     ```liquidity and capital resources the company has historically financed its operations and capital requirements through cash flow from its operating activities , long-term loans , lease financing and borrowings under domestic and international short-term lines of credit . in fiscal 2000 and 2009 , the company raised capital via public offerings of its common stock . operating activities net cash flow provided by operating activities totaled $ 207.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . cash generated by the company 's operations included net income of $ 97.1 million , as adjusted for the impact of various non-cash charges , most notably depreciation and amortization of $ 99.9 million , and share-based compensation expense of $ 13.4 million . these operating cash flows were partly offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities , mainly due to an increase in accounts receivables and inventories , and an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities . working capital was $ 538.6 million at december 31 , 2016 , which included $ 406.4 million in cash and cash equivalents , an increase from $ 533.2 million as of december 31 , 2015 , which included $ 349.8 million in cash and cash equivalents . accounts receivable increased by $ 24.3 million during 2016 , or $ 25.3 million after accounting for the effect of foreign currency translation . the net increase reflects the year-over-year increase in fourth quarter sales of the company 's products . the company 's days sales outstanding measure ( dso ) stood at 49 days at december 31 , 2016 compared to 48 days at the beginning of the year . inventories at december 31 , 2016 increased by $ 10.4 million from a year earlier , or $ 19.9 million after accounting for foreign currency translation and the provision for excess and obsolete inventory . the net increase reflects higher levels of all categories of inventory , due to higher sales and production activity .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : entegris seeks to leverage its unique breadth of capabilities to create value for its customers by developing mission-critical solutions to maximize manufacturing yields and enable higher device performance . our technology portfolio includes approximately 20,000 standard and customized products and solutions to achieve the highest levels of purity and performance that are essential to the manufacture of semiconductors , flat panel displays , light emitting diodes , or leds , high-purity chemicals , solar cells , gas lasers , optical and magnetic storage devices , and critical components for aerospace , glass manufacturing and biomedical applications . the majority of our products are consumed at various times throughout the manufacturing process , with demand driven in part by the level of semiconductor and other manufacturing activity . the company 's customers consist primarily of semiconductor manufacturers , semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers as well as thin film transistor-liquid crystal display ( tft-lcd ) and hard disk manufacturers , which are served through direct sales efforts , as well as sales and distribution relationships , in the united states , asia , europe and the middle east . our business is organized and operated in three operating segments which align with the key elements of the advanced semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem . the specialty chemicals and engineered materials ( scem ) segment provides high-performance and high-purity process chemistries , gases , and materials and safe and efficient delivery systems to support semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing processes . the advanced materials handling ( amh ) segment develops solutions to monitor , protect , transport , and deliver critical liquid chemistries and substrates for a broad set of applications in the semiconductor industry and other high-technology industries . the microcontamination control ( mc ) segment offers solutions to purify critical liquid chemistries and gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes and other high-technology industries . while these segments have separate products and technical know-how , they each share a single , global sales force , unified core 28 systems and processes , global technology centers , strategic and technology roadmaps , and a focus on a common set of customers . the company leverages its expertise and technologies from these three segments to create new and increasingly integrated solutions for its customers . see note 15 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information on the company 's three segments . key operating factors key factors , which management believes have the largest impact on the overall results of operations of the company , include : level of sales since a significant portion of the company 's product costs ( except for raw materials , purchased components and direct labor ) are largely fixed in the short-to-medium term , an increase or decrease in sales affects gross profits and overall profitability significantly . also , increases or decreases in sales and operating profitability affect certain costs such as incentive compensation and commissions , which are highly variable in nature . the company 's sales are subject to the effects of industry cyclicality , technological change , substantial competition , pricing pressures and foreign currency fluctuation . variable margin on sales the company 's variable margin on sales is determined by selling prices and the costs of manufacturing and raw materials . this is affected by a number of factors , which include the company 's sales mix , purchase prices of raw material ( especially polymers , membranes , stainless steel and purchased components ) , domestic and international competition , direct labor costs , and the efficiency of the company 's production operations , among others . fixed cost structure the company 's operations include a number of large fixed or semi-fixed cost components , which include salaries , indirect labor and benefits , facility costs , lease expenses , and depreciation and amortization . it is not possible to vary these costs easily in the short-term as volumes fluctuate . accordingly , increases or decreases in sales volume can have a large effect on the usage and productivity of these cost components , resulting in a large impact on the company 's profitability . overall summary of financial results for the year ended december 31 , 2016 total net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 were $ 1,175.3 million , up $ 94.1 million , or 9 % , from sales of $ 1,081.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . exclusive of favorable foreign currency translation effects of $ 13.8 million , the company 's sales increased 7 % , reflecting an increase in overall demand for the company 's products from semiconductor industry customers , particularly in the sale of advanced deposition materials , wafer and reticle handling solutions , and wet etch and cmp products . the sales increase in 2016 was driven primarily by higher volume and the effect of selling price erosion was nominal . semiconductor industry demand in 2016 was driven by slightly improved demand from device makers , as wafer starts and semiconductor unit production increased , higher industry fab utilization rates , and increased capital spending levels . the company believes sales of its products in 2016 exceeded the overall semiconductor industry growth rate . the company 's gross profit rose by $ 38.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , to $ 508.7 million , up from $ 470.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . accordingly , the company reported a 43.3 % gross margin rate compared to 43.5 % in 2015 . the gross profit and gross margin figures in 2016 included $ 6.3 million of charges related to impairment of equipment and severance . excluding those charges , the company 's gross margin for 2016 was 43.8 % . story_separator_special_tag on a geographic basis , in 2016 , total sales to north america were 22 % , to asia pacific were 56 % , to europe were 9 % and to japan were 13 % . in 2015 , total sales to north america were 23 % , to asia pacific were 55 % , to europe were 10 % and to japan were 12 % . from 2015 to 2016 , net sales to customers in japan and asia pacific increased , 19 % , and 12 % , respectively , while net sales to customers in north america and europe were flat . demand drivers for the company 's business primarily consist of semiconductor fab utilization and production ( unit-driven ) as well as capital spending for new or upgraded semiconductor fabrication equipment and facilities ( capital-driven ) . the company analyzes sales of its products by these two key drivers . sales of unit-driven products represented 76 % of total sales and sales of capital-driven products represented 24 % of total sales in 2016 . this compares to a unit-driven to capital-driven ratio of 78 % : 22 % for 2015 . gross profit gross profit for 2016 increased by $ 38.5 million , to $ 508.7 million , an increase of 8 % from $ 470.2 million for 2015 . the gross margin rate for 2016 was 43.3 % versus 43.5 % for 2015 . an analysis of the factors underlying the increase in gross profit is presented in the following table : ( in thousands ) gross profit in 2015 $ 470,231 growth associated with volume and pricing 44,717 decrease associated with impairment of equipment and severance related to organization realignment ( 6,257 ) gross profit in 2016 $ 508,691 the gross profit improvements primarily reflect the growth associated with volume and pricing , offset by charges related to the impairment of equipment and severance related to the organization realignment . excluding the latter item , the company 's gross margin in 2016 was 43.8 % . selling , general and administrative expenses selling , general and administrative expense ( sg & a ) consists primarily of payroll and related expenses for the sales and administrative staff , professional fees ( including accounting , legal and technology costs and expenses ) , and sales and marketing costs . sg & a expenses for 2016 increased $ 3.0 million , or 2 % , to $ 201.9 million from $ 198.9 million in 2015 . sg & a expenses , as a percent of net sales , decreased to 17.2 % from 18.4 % a year earlier , reflecting the increase in net sales . an analysis of the factors underlying the increase in sg & a is presented in the following table : replace_table_token_6_th engineering , research and development expenses engineering , research and development ( er & d ) expenses related to the support of current product lines and the development of new products and manufacturing technologies increased by $ 1.1 million , or 1 % , to $ 107.0 million in 2016 compared to $ 105.9 million in 2015 . er & d expenses as a percent of net sales were 9.1 % compared to 9.8 % a year ago , reflecting the increase in net sales , offset by the increase in er & d expenditure levels , primarily due to higher employee costs . 33 the company 's overall er & d efforts will continue to focus on the support or extension of current product lines , the development of its technologies to create differentiated and high-value , unit-driven products for the most advanced and demanding semiconductor applications and leveraging its unique and diverse technology portfolio to develop innovative , integrated solutions for unmet customer needs . the company expects er & d costs to stay relatively stable as a percentage of net sales . amortization of intangible assets amortization of intangible assets was $ 44.3 million in 2016 compared to $ 47.3 million for 2015 . the decline reflects the absence of amortization expense for certain identifiable non-compete intangible assets acquired in the atmi merger that became fully amortized in early 2016. interest expense interest expense was $ 36.8 million and $ 38.7 million in the years ended december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . interest expense includes interest associated with debt outstanding issued to help fund the acquisition of atmi in 2014 and the amortization of debt issuance costs associated with such borrowings . the decrease in 2016 reflects lower outstanding borrowings due to the company 's payments on its senior secured term loan in 2016 , offset partly by higher amortization of debt issuance costs due to the acceleration of actual and expected payments on the company 's senior secured term loan . other income , net other income , net , was $ 1.0 million in 2016 compared to other expense , net , of $ 12.4 million in 2015 . in 2016 , other income , net , included foreign currency transaction gains of $ 0.6 million and other gains of $ 0.4 million . in 2015 , other income , net , included foreign currency transaction gains of $ 9.1 million and a gain of $ 3.4 million related to the sale of an equity investment . income tax expense the company recorded income tax expense of $ 22.9 million in 2016 compared to income tax expense of $ 10.2 million in 2015 . the company 's effective tax expense rate was 19.0 % in 2016 , compared to an effective tax rate of 11.1 % in 2015 . the increase in the effective tax rate in 2016 from 2015 and the variance in both years from the u.s. statutory rate of 35 % reflects several factors . the effective tax rates in both years reflects a greater concentration in the company 's geographic composition of income toward jurisdictions with lower tax rates

