sales for the company for the year ended december 31 , 2018 grew 28.8 % to $ 190.5 million from $ 147.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 largely due to sales of approximately $ 36.2 million from dielectrics . dielectrics contributed significantly to earnings . the company absorbed $ 1.1 million in transaction costs during the year ended december 31 , 2018 , approximately $ 760,000 in losses associated with the closure of its manufacturing plant in georgia and an increase of approximately $ 700,000 in health care costs . despite these costs , for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , the company generated increases of 67.7 % and 52.6 % in operating income and net income , respectively . the company 's current strategy includes further organic growth and growth through strategic acquisitions . results of operations the following table sets forth , for the years indicated , the percentage of revenues represented by the items as shown in the company 's consolidated statements of income : replace_table_token_4_th 2018 compared to 2017 sales net sales increased 28.8 % to $ 190.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 from net sales of $ 147.8 million in 2017. the increase in sales was primarily due to dielectric 's sales of approximately $ 36.2 million , which were all in the medical market . on a market basis , sales to customers in the medical , aerospace and defense and consumer markets grew 57.3 % , 14.0 % and 17.2 % , respectively , while sales to customers in the automotive market declined 13.4 % . the increase in sales to customers in the medical market was primarily due to sales by dielectrics as well as a 5.8 % increase in demand from the company 's legacy medical customers . the increase in sales to customers in the aerospace and defense market was largely due to a general uptick in government contract-based orders . the increase in sales to customers in the consumer market was primarily due to sales of molded fiber protective packaging to a new customer . the decline in sales to customers in the automotive market was primarily due to the phase-out of the automotive door panel program for mercedes-benz . 17 gross profit gross profit as a percentage of sales ( “ gross margin ” ) increased to 25.4 % for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , from 24.0 % in 2017. as a percentage of sales , material and direct labor costs collectively decreased approximately 0.6 % , while overhead decreased approximately 0.8 % . the decrease in material and direct labor costs as a percentage of sales was primarily due to increased manufacturing efficiencies resulting from continuous improvement initiatives as well as strategic price increases . the decrease in overhead was primarily due to the increase in sales on fixed overhead costs partially offset by the impact on overhead of rising health care costs . selling , general and administrative expenses selling , general , and administrative expenses ( “ sg & a ” ) increased approximately 16.4 % to $ 27.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , from $ 23.8 million in 2017. as a percentage of sales , sg & a decreased to 14.6 % in 2018 from 16.1 % in 2017. the increase in sg & a for the year ended december 31 , 2018 is due to approximately $ 2.6 million in sg & a expenses from dielectrics as well as higher health care costs . the decrease in sg & a as a percentage of sales is primarily due to lower sg & a as a percentage of sales at dielectrics as well as specific initiatives to reduce costs . acquisition costs the company incurred approximately $ 1.1 million in costs associated with the dielectrics acquisition which were charged to expense for the ended december 31 , 2018. these costs were primarily for investment banking and legal fees and are reflected on the face of the income statement . material overcharge settlement the company was a participant in a class action lawsuit against a number of polyurethane foam suppliers ( “ defendants ” ) that was settled during 2016. the suit was filed to recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for defendants ' alleged violations of the federal antitrust laws with respect to the fixing of prices of polyurethane foam sold from january 1 , 1999 through august 2010. for the each of the years ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , the company recorded gains of approximately $ 0.1 million . the settlement amounts are recorded as “ material overcharge settlement ” in the operating income section of the consolidated statements of income . interest income and expense the company had net interest expense of approximately $ 1.3 million and net interest income of approximately $ 0.2 million for the years ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . the increase in net interest expense is primarily due to interest paid on the debt incurred to finance the dielectrics acquisition . income taxes the company recorded income tax expense , as a percentage of income before income tax expense , of 22.2 % for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared to 22.3 % for the same period in 2017 . 2017 compared to 2016 sales net sales increased 1.2 % to $ 147.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 from net sales of $ 146.1 million in 2016 , primarily due to increases in sales to customers in the medical , aerospace and defense and consumer markets of approximately 8.1 story_separator_special_tag on an ongoing basis , the company evaluates its estimates , including those related to product returns , bad debts , inventories , intangible assets , income taxes , warranty obligations , restructuring charges , contingencies , and litigation . the company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances , including current and anticipated worldwide economic conditions , both in general and specifically in relation to the packaging and component product industries , the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources . actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions . the company 's significant accounting policies are described in note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in item 8 of this report . the company believes the following critical accounting policies necessitated that significant judgments and estimates be used in the preparation of its consolidated financial statements . the company has reviewed these policies with its audit committee . revenue recognition the company recognizes revenue when a customer obtains control of a promised good or service . the amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration that the company expects to be entitled to in exchange for promised goods or services . the company recognizes revenue in accordance with the core principles of accounting standards codification ( “ asc ” ) 606 which include ( 1 ) identifying the contract with a customer , ( 2 ) identifying separate performance obligations within the contract , ( 3 ) determining the transaction price , ( 4 ) allocating the transaction price to the performance obligations , and ( 5 ) recognizing revenue . the company recognizes all but an immaterial portion of its product sales upon shipment . the company recognizes revenue from the sale of tooling and machinery primarily upon customer acceptance , with the exception of certain tooling where control does not transfer to the customer , which results in revenue being recognized over the estimated time for which parts are produced with the use of each respective tool . the company recognizes revenue from engineering services as the services are performed . although only applicable to an insignificant number of transactions , the company has elected to exclude sales taxes from the transaction price . the company has elected to account for shipping and handling activities for which the company is responsible under the terms and conditions of the sale not as performance obligations but rather as fulfillment costs . these activities are required to fulfill the company 's promise to transfer the good and are expensed when revenue is recognized . 23 goodwill goodwill is tested for impairment annually and will be tested for impairment between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would indicate that the carrying amount may be impaired . impairment testing for goodwill is done at a reporting unit level . reporting units are one level below the business segment level but can be combined when reporting units within the same segment have similar economic characteristics . an impairment loss generally would be recognized when the carrying amount of the reporting unit 's net assets exceeds the estimated fair value of the reporting unit . the company consists of a single reporting unit . in testing goodwill for impairment at december 31 , 2018 , the company primarily utilized the guideline public company ( “ gpc ” ) method under the market approach and the discounted cash flows method ( “ dcf ” ) under the income approach to determine the fair value of the reporting unit for purposes of testing the reporting unit 's carrying value of goodwill for impairment . the gpc method derives a value by generating a multiple of ebitda through the comparison of the company to similar publicly traded companies . the dcf approach derives a value based on the present value of a series of estimated future cash flows at the valuation date by the application of a discount rate , one that a prudent investor would require before making an investment in our equity securities . the key assumptions used in our approach included : · the reporting unit 's estimated financials and five-year projections of financial results , which were based on our strategic plans and long-range forecasts . sales growth rates represent estimates based on current and forecasted sales mix and market conditions . the profit margins were projected based on historical margins , projected sales mix , current expense structure and anticipated expense modifications . · the projected terminal value which reflects the total present value of projected cash flows beyond the last period in the dcf . this value reflects a growth rate for the reporting unit , which is approximately the same growth rate of expected inflation into perpetuity . · the discount rate determined using a weighted average cost of capital method ( “ wacc ” ) , which considered market and industry data as well as company-specific risk factors . · selection of guideline public companies which are similar in size and market capitalization to each other and to the company . as of december 31 , 2018 , based on our calculations under the above noted approach , the fair value of the reporting unit significantly exceeded the carrying value of the reporting unit . in performing these calculations , management used its most reasonable estimates of the key assumptions discussed above . if our actual operating results and or the key assumptions utilized in management 's calculations differ from our expectations , it is possible that a future impairment charge may be necessary . accounts receivable the company periodically reviews the collectability of its accounts receivable . provisions are recorded for accounts that are potentially uncollectable . determining adequate reserves for accounts receivable requires management 's judgment . conditions impacting

cash flows net cash provided by operations for the year ended december 31 , 2018 was approximately $ 21.3 million and was primarily a result of net income generated of approximately $ 14.3 million , depreciation and amortization of approximately $ 7.8 million , share-based compensation of approximately $ 1.2 million , an increase in deferred taxes of approximately $ 1.9 million , and an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses of approximately $ 2.6 million due to the timing of vendor payments in the ordinary course of business . these cash inflows and adjustments to income were partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of approximately $ 2.6 million primarily due to increased sales in the last two months of the fourth quarter of 2018 over the same period of 2017 , an increase in inventory of approximately $ 2.3 million primarily due to the building of inventory to support the higher sales , an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of approximately $ 0.3 million and an increase in refundable income taxes of approximately $ 1.3 million . net cash used in investing activities during the year ended december 31 , 2018 was approximately $ 82.3 million and was primarily the result of the acquisition of dielectrics and additions of manufacturing machinery and equipment and various building improvements across the company . net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $ 26.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , representing borrowings under our credit facility to fund the dielectrics acquisition of $ 56.0 million and net proceeds received upon stock options exercises of approximately $ 1.3 million , partially offset by repayments on our credit facility and term loan of approximately $ 30.9 million , and payments of statutory withholding for stock options exercised and restricted stock units vested of approximately $ 0.1 million .


 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.
     ```cash flows net cash provided by operations for the year ended december 31 , 2018 was approximately $ 21.3 million and was primarily a result of net income generated of approximately $ 14.3 million , depreciation and amortization of approximately $ 7.8 million , share-based compensation of approximately $ 1.2 million , an increase in deferred taxes of approximately $ 1.9 million , and an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses of approximately $ 2.6 million due to the timing of vendor payments in the ordinary course of business . these cash inflows and adjustments to income were partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of approximately $ 2.6 million primarily due to increased sales in the last two months of the fourth quarter of 2018 over the same period of 2017 , an increase in inventory of approximately $ 2.3 million primarily due to the building of inventory to support the higher sales , an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of approximately $ 0.3 million and an increase in refundable income taxes of approximately $ 1.3 million . net cash used in investing activities during the year ended december 31 , 2018 was approximately $ 82.3 million and was primarily the result of the acquisition of dielectrics and additions of manufacturing machinery and equipment and various building improvements across the company . net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $ 26.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , representing borrowings under our credit facility to fund the dielectrics acquisition of $ 56.0 million and net proceeds received upon stock options exercises of approximately $ 1.3 million , partially offset by repayments on our credit facility and term loan of approximately $ 30.9 million , and payments of statutory withholding for stock options exercised and restricted stock units vested of approximately $ 0.1 million .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : sales for the company for the year ended december 31 , 2018 grew 28.8 % to $ 190.5 million from $ 147.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 largely due to sales of approximately $ 36.2 million from dielectrics . dielectrics contributed significantly to earnings . the company absorbed $ 1.1 million in transaction costs during the year ended december 31 , 2018 , approximately $ 760,000 in losses associated with the closure of its manufacturing plant in georgia and an increase of approximately $ 700,000 in health care costs . despite these costs , for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , the company generated increases of 67.7 % and 52.6 % in operating income and net income , respectively . the company 's current strategy includes further organic growth and growth through strategic acquisitions . results of operations the following table sets forth , for the years indicated , the percentage of revenues represented by the items as shown in the company 's consolidated statements of income : replace_table_token_4_th 2018 compared to 2017 sales net sales increased 28.8 % to $ 190.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 from net sales of $ 147.8 million in 2017. the increase in sales was primarily due to dielectric 's sales of approximately $ 36.2 million , which were all in the medical market . on a market basis , sales to customers in the medical , aerospace and defense and consumer markets grew 57.3 % , 14.0 % and 17.2 % , respectively , while sales to customers in the automotive market declined 13.4 % . the increase in sales to customers in the medical market was primarily due to sales by dielectrics as well as a 5.8 % increase in demand from the company 's legacy medical customers . the increase in sales to customers in the aerospace and defense market was largely due to a general uptick in government contract-based orders . the increase in sales to customers in the consumer market was primarily due to sales of molded fiber protective packaging to a new customer . the decline in sales to customers in the automotive market was primarily due to the phase-out of the automotive door panel program for mercedes-benz . 17 gross profit gross profit as a percentage of sales ( “ gross margin ” ) increased to 25.4 % for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , from 24.0 % in 2017. as a percentage of sales , material and direct labor costs collectively decreased approximately 0.6 % , while overhead decreased approximately 0.8 % . the decrease in material and direct labor costs as a percentage of sales was primarily due to increased manufacturing efficiencies resulting from continuous improvement initiatives as well as strategic price increases . the decrease in overhead was primarily due to the increase in sales on fixed overhead costs partially offset by the impact on overhead of rising health care costs . selling , general and administrative expenses selling , general , and administrative expenses ( “ sg & a ” ) increased approximately 16.4 % to $ 27.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 , from $ 23.8 million in 2017. as a percentage of sales , sg & a decreased to 14.6 % in 2018 from 16.1 % in 2017. the increase in sg & a for the year ended december 31 , 2018 is due to approximately $ 2.6 million in sg & a expenses from dielectrics as well as higher health care costs . the decrease in sg & a as a percentage of sales is primarily due to lower sg & a as a percentage of sales at dielectrics as well as specific initiatives to reduce costs . acquisition costs the company incurred approximately $ 1.1 million in costs associated with the dielectrics acquisition which were charged to expense for the ended december 31 , 2018. these costs were primarily for investment banking and legal fees and are reflected on the face of the income statement . material overcharge settlement the company was a participant in a class action lawsuit against a number of polyurethane foam suppliers ( “ defendants ” ) that was settled during 2016. the suit was filed to recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for defendants ' alleged violations of the federal antitrust laws with respect to the fixing of prices of polyurethane foam sold from january 1 , 1999 through august 2010. for the each of the years ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , the company recorded gains of approximately $ 0.1 million . the settlement amounts are recorded as “ material overcharge settlement ” in the operating income section of the consolidated statements of income . interest income and expense the company had net interest expense of approximately $ 1.3 million and net interest income of approximately $ 0.2 million for the years ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . the increase in net interest expense is primarily due to interest paid on the debt incurred to finance the dielectrics acquisition . income taxes the company recorded income tax expense , as a percentage of income before income tax expense , of 22.2 % for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared to 22.3 % for the same period in 2017 . 2017 compared to 2016 sales net sales increased 1.2 % to $ 147.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 from net sales of $ 146.1 million in 2016 , primarily due to increases in sales to customers in the medical , aerospace and defense and consumer markets of approximately 8.1 story_separator_special_tag on an ongoing basis , the company evaluates its estimates , including those related to product returns , bad debts , inventories , intangible assets , income taxes , warranty obligations , restructuring charges , contingencies , and litigation . the company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances , including current and anticipated worldwide economic conditions , both in general and specifically in relation to the packaging and component product industries , the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources . actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions . the company 's significant accounting policies are described in note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in item 8 of this report . the company believes the following critical accounting policies necessitated that significant judgments and estimates be used in the preparation of its consolidated financial statements . the company has reviewed these policies with its audit committee . revenue recognition the company recognizes revenue when a customer obtains control of a promised good or service . the amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration that the company expects to be entitled to in exchange for promised goods or services . the company recognizes revenue in accordance with the core principles of accounting standards codification ( “ asc ” ) 606 which include ( 1 ) identifying the contract with a customer , ( 2 ) identifying separate performance obligations within the contract , ( 3 ) determining the transaction price , ( 4 ) allocating the transaction price to the performance obligations , and ( 5 ) recognizing revenue . the company recognizes all but an immaterial portion of its product sales upon shipment . the company recognizes revenue from the sale of tooling and machinery primarily upon customer acceptance , with the exception of certain tooling where control does not transfer to the customer , which results in revenue being recognized over the estimated time for which parts are produced with the use of each respective tool . the company recognizes revenue from engineering services as the services are performed . although only applicable to an insignificant number of transactions , the company has elected to exclude sales taxes from the transaction price . the company has elected to account for shipping and handling activities for which the company is responsible under the terms and conditions of the sale not as performance obligations but rather as fulfillment costs . these activities are required to fulfill the company 's promise to transfer the good and are expensed when revenue is recognized . 23 goodwill goodwill is tested for impairment annually and will be tested for impairment between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would indicate that the carrying amount may be impaired . impairment testing for goodwill is done at a reporting unit level . reporting units are one level below the business segment level but can be combined when reporting units within the same segment have similar economic characteristics . an impairment loss generally would be recognized when the carrying amount of the reporting unit 's net assets exceeds the estimated fair value of the reporting unit . the company consists of a single reporting unit . in testing goodwill for impairment at december 31 , 2018 , the company primarily utilized the guideline public company ( “ gpc ” ) method under the market approach and the discounted cash flows method ( “ dcf ” ) under the income approach to determine the fair value of the reporting unit for purposes of testing the reporting unit 's carrying value of goodwill for impairment . the gpc method derives a value by generating a multiple of ebitda through the comparison of the company to similar publicly traded companies . the dcf approach derives a value based on the present value of a series of estimated future cash flows at the valuation date by the application of a discount rate , one that a prudent investor would require before making an investment in our equity securities . the key assumptions used in our approach included : · the reporting unit 's estimated financials and five-year projections of financial results , which were based on our strategic plans and long-range forecasts . sales growth rates represent estimates based on current and forecasted sales mix and market conditions . the profit margins were projected based on historical margins , projected sales mix , current expense structure and anticipated expense modifications . · the projected terminal value which reflects the total present value of projected cash flows beyond the last period in the dcf . this value reflects a growth rate for the reporting unit , which is approximately the same growth rate of expected inflation into perpetuity . · the discount rate determined using a weighted average cost of capital method ( “ wacc ” ) , which considered market and industry data as well as company-specific risk factors . · selection of guideline public companies which are similar in size and market capitalization to each other and to the company . as of december 31 , 2018 , based on our calculations under the above noted approach , the fair value of the reporting unit significantly exceeded the carrying value of the reporting unit . in performing these calculations , management used its most reasonable estimates of the key assumptions discussed above . if our actual operating results and or the key assumptions utilized in management 's calculations differ from our expectations , it is possible that a future impairment charge may be necessary . accounts receivable the company periodically reviews the collectability of its accounts receivable . provisions are recorded for accounts that are potentially uncollectable . determining adequate reserves for accounts receivable requires management 's judgment . conditions impacting

