interest expense in 2018 decreased to $ 51.5 million from $ 54.8 million in 2017 primarily as a result of a lower overall average interest rate during the year on our outstanding indebtedness . in 2018 , we incurred expenses of $ 7.0 million in connection with the legal cost award and $ 5.3 million in an acquisition commitment fee related to our acquisition of mpr . in 2018 , we incurred other expenses of $ 5.4 million primarily due to a foreign exchange loss on the strengthening of the dollar on our canadian dollar denominated cash held to purchase mpr . during 2018 , income tax expense increased to $ 48.7 million from $ 33.5 million in 2017 primarily due to higher taxable income for our german mills . in 2018 , record net income resulted in our loss carryforwards and other deductions being reduced , resulting in current income taxes of $ 32.1 million . in 2018 , after giving effect to costs of $ 33.7 million , or $ 0.52 per basic and $ 0.51 per diluted share , for the loss on the redemption of senior notes , the legal cost award and the acquisition commitment fee , our net income increased to $ 128.6 million , or $ 1.97 per basic and $ 1.96 per diluted share , from $ 70.5 million , or $ 1.09 per basic and $ 1.08 per diluted share , after giving effect to costs of $ 10.7 million for the loss on the redemption of senior notes in 2017. in 2018 , operating ebitda increased by approximately 44 % to $ 364.6 million from $ 253.8 million in 2017 as higher nbsk pulp sales realizations more than offset higher per unit fiber costs , higher maintenance costs and lower energy and pulp sales volumes . ( 69 ) pulp segment  year ended december 31 , 2018 compared to year ended december 31 , 2017 selected financial information replace_table_token_22_th ( 1 ) results of mpr included from december 10 , 2018. pulp revenues in 2018 increased by approximately 22 % to $ 1,190.6 million from $ 979.6 million in 2017 due to higher sales realizations and the inclusion of $ 29.8 million of revenues from the mpr acquisition partially offset by lower sales volumes . energy and chemical revenues decreased by approximately 16 % to $ 77.6 million in 2018 from $ 92.1 million in 2017 primarily due to scheduled maintenance work on one turbine at each of our stendal and celgar mills and lower pulp production . the turbine at the stendal mill was taken offline for a scheduled maintenance in april 2018 and did not resume service until july 2018. the turbine at the celgar mill was taken offline to complete maintenance work identified during the second quarter shut and did not resume service until late august 2018. nbsk pulp production decreased by approximately 4 % to 1,451,327 admts in 2018 from 1,507,019 admts , being an annual production record , in 2017. in 2018 , with the acquisition of mpr , we also produced 21,263 admts of nbhk pulp . in 2018 , we had annual scheduled maintenance downtime of 54 days ( approximately 75,600 admts ) , compared to 35 days ( approximately 48,000 admts ) in 2017. we estimate that such maintenance downtime in 2018 adversely impacted our operating income by approximately $ 72.9 million , comprised of approximately $ 45.3 million in direct out-of-pocket expenses and the balance in reduced production . many of our competitors that report their financial results using international financial reporting standards , referred to as ifrs , capitalize their direct costs of maintenance downtime . nbsk pulp sales volumes decreased by approximately 6 % to 1,417,961 admts in 2018 compared to 1,515,084 admts in 2017 primarily due to lower production . in 2018 , we also sold 22,907 admts of nbhk pulp . in 2018 , list prices for nbsk pulp increased from 2017 , largely as a result of continued steady demand . average list prices for nbsk pulp in europe were approximately $ 1,183 per admt in 2018 , compared to approximately $ 901 per admt in 2017. average list prices for nbsk pulp in china and north america were approximately $ 878 per admt and $ 1,337 per admt , respectively , in 2018 compared to approximately $ 712 per admt and $ 1,105 per admt , respectively , in 2017. average nbsk pulp sales realizations increased by approximately 28 % to $ 821 per admt in 2018 from approximately $ 640 per admt in 2017 due to higher list prices . in 2018 , nbhk pulp sales realizations were $ 707 per admt . as a result of the effect of a stronger dollar at the end of 2018 , we recorded a positive impact on our dollar denominated cash and receivables held at our operations , which was mostly offset by the negative impact of an overall 5 % weaker dollar against the euro , which increased the dollar cost of our euro denominated costs and expenses compared to 2017. in 2018 , the net positive impact on operating income due to foreign exchange was $ 3.9 million . ( 70 ) costs and expenses in 2018 increased by approximately 10 % to $ 995.2 million from $ 901.8 million in 2017 primarily due to higher per unit fiber costs , higher maintenance costs and costs and expenses from our acquisition of mpr partially offset by lower sales volumes . in 2018 , depreciation and amortization increased to $ 87.6 million from $ 80.8 million in 2017 primarily due to the negative impact of a weaker dollar on our euro denominated depreciation expense , capital improvements at the celgar mill and the depreciation expense for the acquisition of mpr . story_separator_special_tag in 2017 , net income increased to $ 70.5 million , or $ 1.09 per basic and $ 1.08 per diluted share , from $ 34.9 million , or $ 0.54 per share , in 2016 . ( 72 ) in 2017 , operating ebitda increased by approximately 36 % to $ 253.8 million from $ 187.1 million in 2016 primarily as a result of higher pulp sales realizations and , to a lesser degree , the inclusion of our wood products segment . pulp segment  year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to year ended december 31 , 2016 selected financial information replace_table_token_24_th pulp revenues in 2017 increased by approximately 16 % to $ 979.6 million from $ 847.3 million in 2016 due to higher sales realizations and sales volumes . energy and chemical revenues increased by approximately 9 % to $ 92.1 million in 2017 compared to $ 84.3 million in 2016 primarily due to higher sales volumes . pulp production increased by approximately 6 % to 1,507,019 admts , being an annual production record , in 2017 from 1,428,384 admts in 2016. in 2017 , we had annual maintenance downtime of 35 days ( approximately 48,000 admts ) , compared to 43 days ( approximately 61,400 admts ) in 2016. we estimate that such maintenance downtime in 2017 adversely impacted our operating income by approximately $ 36.8 million , comprised of approximately $ 28.1 million in direct out-of-pocket expenses and the balance in reduced production . many of our competitors that report their financial results using ifrs capitalize their direct costs of maintenance downtime . pulp sales volumes increased by approximately 6 % to 1,515,084 admts in 2017 compared to 1,428,672 admts in 2016 primarily due to continued steady demand from both china and europe and record production . in 2017 , list prices for nbsk pulp increased from 2016 , largely as a result of continued steady demand . average list prices for nbsk pulp in europe were approximately $ 901 per admt in 2017 , compared to approximately $ 803 per admt in 2016. average list prices for nbsk pulp in china and north america were approximately $ 712 per admt and $ 1,105 per admt , respectively , in 2017 , compared to approximately $ 599 per admt and $ 978 per admt , respectively , in 2016. average pulp sales realizations increased by approximately 9 % to $ 640 per admt in 2017 from approximately $ 586 per admt in 2016 due to higher list prices . in 2017 , the dollar was 2 % weaker against the euro and canadian dollar compared to 2016 which increased the dollar cost of our euro and canadian dollar denominated costs and expenses and contributed to a negative foreign exchange impact on operating income of approximately $ 28.0 million when compared to 2016. costs and expenses in 2017 increased by approximately 12 % to $ 901.8 million from $ 807.0 million in 2016 primarily due to higher sales volumes , the negative impact of a weaker dollar on our euro and canadian dollar denominated costs and expenses and the reversal in 2016 of accruals for wastewater fees at our german mills of $ 20.8 million . ( 73 ) in 2017 , depreciation and amortization increased to $ 80.8 million from $ 71.5 million in 2016 due to the completion of several major capital projects . on average , in 2017 overall per unit fiber costs in germany and for our celgar mill were flat compared to 2016 primarily as a result of a balanced wood market in both germany and the celgar mill 's fiber basket . transportation costs increased by approximately 12 % to $ 76.4 million in 2017 from $ 68.1 million in 2016 primarily due to higher sales volumes . in 2017 , pulp segment operating income increased by approximately 37 % to $ 171.3 million from $ 124.6 million in 2016 primarily due to higher pulp sales realizations and sales volumes , partially offset by the negative impact of a weaker dollar and the reversal in 2016 of accruals for wastewater fees . wood products segment  year ended december 31 , 2017 selected financial information year ended december 31 , 2017 ( in thousands ) lumber revenues $ 82,176 energy revenues $ 8,872 wood residual revenues $ 6,382 depreciation and amortization $ 4,060 operating income $ 5,610 in 2017 , we had lumber revenues of $ 82.2 million , the majority of which was in the european market . european lumber markets were generally strong and prices steady and near multi-year highs . we produced 281.3 mmfbm of lumber . lumber sales volumes were 213.5 mmfbm as we completed our inventory build-up to support sales to the u.s. market . average lumber sales realizations in 2017 were approximately $ 385 per mfbm . in 2017 , energy and other by-product revenues were approximately $ 15.3 million and we sold 73,698 mwh of electricity . our fiber costs were approximately 80 % of our cash production costs . the ramping up of production resulted in our purchasing large volumes of sawlogs in a short period . this resulted in our sawlog costs being marginally higher than our regional competitors . in 2017 we started realizing on identified fiber synergies between the friesau mill and our rosenthal pulp mill . during 2017 , the facility shipped approximately 738,300 cubic meters of chips to rosenthal , and rosenthal shipped approximately 70,100 cubic meters of waste wood to friesau . both volumes are in line with our forecasts and have begun to lower costs at both mills . as at december 31 , 2017 , we estimate we have realized approximately $ 6.9 million of our expected synergy savings . in 2017 , depreciation and amortization for our wood products segment was $ 4.1 million . in 2017 , our wood products segment operating income was $ 5.6 million . ( 74 )

cash flows from operating activities cash from operations includes : cash received from customers ; cash paid to employees and suppliers ; cash paid for interest on our debt ; and cash paid or received for taxes . cash provided by operating activities in 2018 increased to $ 236.7 million from $ 141.9 million in 2017 and $ 140.8 million in 2016 due to higher operating income . in 2018 , an increase in accounts receivable used cash of $ 10.4 million . in 2017 , an increase in accounts receivable used cash of $ 64.9 million , of which $ 8.3 million was related to our wood products segment . in 2016 , a decrease in accounts receivable provided cash of $ 9.5 million . in 2018 , an increase in inventories used cash of $ 58.1 million . in 2017 , an increase in inventories used cash of $ 20.0 million , reflecting an increase of $ 27.0 million from our wood products segment and a decrease of $ 7.0 million in our pulp segment . a decrease in inventories provided cash of $ 6.8 million in 2016. an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses provided cash of $ 38.0 million , including a legal cost award in 2018. in 2017 , an increase in ( 76 ) accounts payable and accrued expenses provided cash of $ 37.2 million , of which $ 15.6 million was related to our wood products segment , and in 2016 a decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses used cash of $ 10.3 million . cash flows from investing activities cash from investing activities includes : acquisitions of property , plant and equipment and businesses ; proceeds from the sale of assets ; and purchases and sales of short-term investments . investing activities in 2018 used cash of $ 467.5 million primarily related to the acquisitions of mpr for $ 344.6 million and santanol for $ 35.7 million and capital expenditures of $ 87.0 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 from operating activities cash from operations includes : cash received from customers ; cash paid to employees and suppliers ; cash paid for interest on our debt ; and cash paid or received for taxes . cash provided by operating activities in 2018 increased to $ 236.7 million from $ 141.9 million in 2017 and $ 140.8 million in 2016 due to higher operating income . in 2018 , an increase in accounts receivable used cash of $ 10.4 million . in 2017 , an increase in accounts receivable used cash of $ 64.9 million , of which $ 8.3 million was related to our wood products segment . in 2016 , a decrease in accounts receivable provided cash of $ 9.5 million . in 2018 , an increase in inventories used cash of $ 58.1 million . in 2017 , an increase in inventories used cash of $ 20.0 million , reflecting an increase of $ 27.0 million from our wood products segment and a decrease of $ 7.0 million in our pulp segment . a decrease in inventories provided cash of $ 6.8 million in 2016. an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses provided cash of $ 38.0 million , including a legal cost award in 2018. in 2017 , an increase in ( 76 ) accounts payable and accrued expenses provided cash of $ 37.2 million , of which $ 15.6 million was related to our wood products segment , and in 2016 a decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses used cash of $ 10.3 million . cash flows from investing activities cash from investing activities includes : acquisitions of property , plant and equipment and businesses ; proceeds from the sale of assets ; and purchases and sales of short-term investments . investing activities in 2018 used cash of $ 467.5 million primarily related to the acquisitions of mpr for $ 344.6 million and santanol for $ 35.7 million and capital expenditures of $ 87.0 million .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : interest expense in 2018 decreased to $ 51.5 million from $ 54.8 million in 2017 primarily as a result of a lower overall average interest rate during the year on our outstanding indebtedness . in 2018 , we incurred expenses of $ 7.0 million in connection with the legal cost award and $ 5.3 million in an acquisition commitment fee related to our acquisition of mpr . in 2018 , we incurred other expenses of $ 5.4 million primarily due to a foreign exchange loss on the strengthening of the dollar on our canadian dollar denominated cash held to purchase mpr . during 2018 , income tax expense increased to $ 48.7 million from $ 33.5 million in 2017 primarily due to higher taxable income for our german mills . in 2018 , record net income resulted in our loss carryforwards and other deductions being reduced , resulting in current income taxes of $ 32.1 million . in 2018 , after giving effect to costs of $ 33.7 million , or $ 0.52 per basic and $ 0.51 per diluted share , for the loss on the redemption of senior notes , the legal cost award and the acquisition commitment fee , our net income increased to $ 128.6 million , or $ 1.97 per basic and $ 1.96 per diluted share , from $ 70.5 million , or $ 1.09 per basic and $ 1.08 per diluted share , after giving effect to costs of $ 10.7 million for the loss on the redemption of senior notes in 2017. in 2018 , operating ebitda increased by approximately 44 % to $ 364.6 million from $ 253.8 million in 2017 as higher nbsk pulp sales realizations more than offset higher per unit fiber costs , higher maintenance costs and lower energy and pulp sales volumes . ( 69 ) pulp segment  year ended december 31 , 2018 compared to year ended december 31 , 2017 selected financial information replace_table_token_22_th ( 1 ) results of mpr included from december 10 , 2018. pulp revenues in 2018 increased by approximately 22 % to $ 1,190.6 million from $ 979.6 million in 2017 due to higher sales realizations and the inclusion of $ 29.8 million of revenues from the mpr acquisition partially offset by lower sales volumes . energy and chemical revenues decreased by approximately 16 % to $ 77.6 million in 2018 from $ 92.1 million in 2017 primarily due to scheduled maintenance work on one turbine at each of our stendal and celgar mills and lower pulp production . the turbine at the stendal mill was taken offline for a scheduled maintenance in april 2018 and did not resume service until july 2018. the turbine at the celgar mill was taken offline to complete maintenance work identified during the second quarter shut and did not resume service until late august 2018. nbsk pulp production decreased by approximately 4 % to 1,451,327 admts in 2018 from 1,507,019 admts , being an annual production record , in 2017. in 2018 , with the acquisition of mpr , we also produced 21,263 admts of nbhk pulp . in 2018 , we had annual scheduled maintenance downtime of 54 days ( approximately 75,600 admts ) , compared to 35 days ( approximately 48,000 admts ) in 2017. we estimate that such maintenance downtime in 2018 adversely impacted our operating income by approximately $ 72.9 million , comprised of approximately $ 45.3 million in direct out-of-pocket expenses and the balance in reduced production . many of our competitors that report their financial results using international financial reporting standards , referred to as ifrs , capitalize their direct costs of maintenance downtime . nbsk pulp sales volumes decreased by approximately 6 % to 1,417,961 admts in 2018 compared to 1,515,084 admts in 2017 primarily due to lower production . in 2018 , we also sold 22,907 admts of nbhk pulp . in 2018 , list prices for nbsk pulp increased from 2017 , largely as a result of continued steady demand . average list prices for nbsk pulp in europe were approximately $ 1,183 per admt in 2018 , compared to approximately $ 901 per admt in 2017. average list prices for nbsk pulp in china and north america were approximately $ 878 per admt and $ 1,337 per admt , respectively , in 2018 compared to approximately $ 712 per admt and $ 1,105 per admt , respectively , in 2017. average nbsk pulp sales realizations increased by approximately 28 % to $ 821 per admt in 2018 from approximately $ 640 per admt in 2017 due to higher list prices . in 2018 , nbhk pulp sales realizations were $ 707 per admt . as a result of the effect of a stronger dollar at the end of 2018 , we recorded a positive impact on our dollar denominated cash and receivables held at our operations , which was mostly offset by the negative impact of an overall 5 % weaker dollar against the euro , which increased the dollar cost of our euro denominated costs and expenses compared to 2017. in 2018 , the net positive impact on operating income due to foreign exchange was $ 3.9 million . ( 70 ) costs and expenses in 2018 increased by approximately 10 % to $ 995.2 million from $ 901.8 million in 2017 primarily due to higher per unit fiber costs , higher maintenance costs and costs and expenses from our acquisition of mpr partially offset by lower sales volumes . in 2018 , depreciation and amortization increased to $ 87.6 million from $ 80.8 million in 2017 primarily due to the negative impact of a weaker dollar on our euro denominated depreciation expense , capital improvements at the celgar mill and the depreciation expense for the acquisition of mpr . story_separator_special_tag in 2017 , net income increased to $ 70.5 million , or $ 1.09 per basic and $ 1.08 per diluted share , from $ 34.9 million , or $ 0.54 per share , in 2016 . ( 72 ) in 2017 , operating ebitda increased by approximately 36 % to $ 253.8 million from $ 187.1 million in 2016 primarily as a result of higher pulp sales realizations and , to a lesser degree , the inclusion of our wood products segment . pulp segment  year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to year ended december 31 , 2016 selected financial information replace_table_token_24_th pulp revenues in 2017 increased by approximately 16 % to $ 979.6 million from $ 847.3 million in 2016 due to higher sales realizations and sales volumes . energy and chemical revenues increased by approximately 9 % to $ 92.1 million in 2017 compared to $ 84.3 million in 2016 primarily due to higher sales volumes . pulp production increased by approximately 6 % to 1,507,019 admts , being an annual production record , in 2017 from 1,428,384 admts in 2016. in 2017 , we had annual maintenance downtime of 35 days ( approximately 48,000 admts ) , compared to 43 days ( approximately 61,400 admts ) in 2016. we estimate that such maintenance downtime in 2017 adversely impacted our operating income by approximately $ 36.8 million , comprised of approximately $ 28.1 million in direct out-of-pocket expenses and the balance in reduced production . many of our competitors that report their financial results using ifrs capitalize their direct costs of maintenance downtime . pulp sales volumes increased by approximately 6 % to 1,515,084 admts in 2017 compared to 1,428,672 admts in 2016 primarily due to continued steady demand from both china and europe and record production . in 2017 , list prices for nbsk pulp increased from 2016 , largely as a result of continued steady demand . average list prices for nbsk pulp in europe were approximately $ 901 per admt in 2017 , compared to approximately $ 803 per admt in 2016. average list prices for nbsk pulp in china and north america were approximately $ 712 per admt and $ 1,105 per admt , respectively , in 2017 , compared to approximately $ 599 per admt and $ 978 per admt , respectively , in 2016. average pulp sales realizations increased by approximately 9 % to $ 640 per admt in 2017 from approximately $ 586 per admt in 2016 due to higher list prices . in 2017 , the dollar was 2 % weaker against the euro and canadian dollar compared to 2016 which increased the dollar cost of our euro and canadian dollar denominated costs and expenses and contributed to a negative foreign exchange impact on operating income of approximately $ 28.0 million when compared to 2016. costs and expenses in 2017 increased by approximately 12 % to $ 901.8 million from $ 807.0 million in 2016 primarily due to higher sales volumes , the negative impact of a weaker dollar on our euro and canadian dollar denominated costs and expenses and the reversal in 2016 of accruals for wastewater fees at our german mills of $ 20.8 million . ( 73 ) in 2017 , depreciation and amortization increased to $ 80.8 million from $ 71.5 million in 2016 due to the completion of several major capital projects . on average , in 2017 overall per unit fiber costs in germany and for our celgar mill were flat compared to 2016 primarily as a result of a balanced wood market in both germany and the celgar mill 's fiber basket . transportation costs increased by approximately 12 % to $ 76.4 million in 2017 from $ 68.1 million in 2016 primarily due to higher sales volumes . in 2017 , pulp segment operating income increased by approximately 37 % to $ 171.3 million from $ 124.6 million in 2016 primarily due to higher pulp sales realizations and sales volumes , partially offset by the negative impact of a weaker dollar and the reversal in 2016 of accruals for wastewater fees . wood products segment  year ended december 31 , 2017 selected financial information year ended december 31 , 2017 ( in thousands ) lumber revenues $ 82,176 energy revenues $ 8,872 wood residual revenues $ 6,382 depreciation and amortization $ 4,060 operating income $ 5,610 in 2017 , we had lumber revenues of $ 82.2 million , the majority of which was in the european market . european lumber markets were generally strong and prices steady and near multi-year highs . we produced 281.3 mmfbm of lumber . lumber sales volumes were 213.5 mmfbm as we completed our inventory build-up to support sales to the u.s. market . average lumber sales realizations in 2017 were approximately $ 385 per mfbm . in 2017 , energy and other by-product revenues were approximately $ 15.3 million and we sold 73,698 mwh of electricity . our fiber costs were approximately 80 % of our cash production costs . the ramping up of production resulted in our purchasing large volumes of sawlogs in a short period . this resulted in our sawlog costs being marginally higher than our regional competitors . in 2017 we started realizing on identified fiber synergies between the friesau mill and our rosenthal pulp mill . during 2017 , the facility shipped approximately 738,300 cubic meters of chips to rosenthal , and rosenthal shipped approximately 70,100 cubic meters of waste wood to friesau . both volumes are in line with our forecasts and have begun to lower costs at both mills . as at december 31 , 2017 , we estimate we have realized approximately $ 6.9 million of our expected synergy savings . in 2017 , depreciation and amortization for our wood products segment was $ 4.1 million . in 2017 , our wood products segment operating income was $ 5.6 million . ( 74 )

