increasing same-restaurant sales can improve segment profit because these incremental sales provide better leverage of our fixed and semi-fixed restaurant-level costs . a restaurant brand can generate same-restaurant sales increases through increases in guest traffic , increases in the average guest check , or a combination of the two . the average guest check can be impacted by menu price changes and by the mix of menu items sold . for each restaurant brand , we gather daily sales data and regularly analyze the guest traffic counts and the mix of menu items sold to aid in developing menu pricing , product offerings and promotional strategies . we focus on balancing our pricing and product offerings with other initiatives to produce sustainable same-restaurant sales growth . we compute same-restaurant sales using restaurants open at least 16 months because this period is generally required for new restaurant sales levels to normalize . sales at newly opened restaurants generally do not make a significant contribution to profitability in their initial months of operation due to operating or integration inefficiencies . our sales and expenses can be impacted significantly by the number and timing of new restaurant openings and closings , and relocations and remodeling of existing restaurants . pre-opening expenses each period reflect the costs associated with opening new restaurants in current and future periods . 28 fiscal 2019 financial highlights our sales from continuing operations were $ 8.51 billion in fiscal 2019 compared to $ 8.08 billion in fiscal 2018 . the 5.3 percent increase in sales from continuing operations was primarily driven by revenue from the addition of 39 net new company-owned restaurants and a combined darden same-restaurant sales increase of 2.5 percent . net earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2019 were $ 718.6 million ( $ 5.73 per diluted share ) compared with net earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2018 of $ 603.8 million ( $ 4.79 per diluted share ) . net earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2019 increased 19.0 percent and diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 19.6 percent compared with fiscal 2018 . our net loss from discontinued operations was $ 5.2 million ( $ 0.04 per diluted share ) for fiscal 2019 , compared with a net loss from discontinued operations of $ 7.8 million ( $ 0.06 per diluted share ) for fiscal 2018 . when combined with results from continuing operations , our diluted net earnings per share were $ 5.69 and $ 4.73 for fiscal 2019 and 2018 , respectively . outlook we expect fiscal 2020 sales from continuing operations to increase between 5.3 percent and 6.3 percent , driven by the impact of the 53 rd week in fiscal 2020 , combined darden same-restaurant sales growth of 1.0 percent to 2.0 percent and approximately 50 new restaurants . in fiscal 2020 , we expect our annual effective tax rate to be between 10.0 percent and 11.0 percent and we expect capital expenditures incurred to build new restaurants , remodel and maintain existing restaurants and technology initiatives to be between $ 450.0 million and $ 500.0 million . in june 2019 , we announced a quarterly dividend of $ 0.88 per share , payable on august 1 , 2019 . based on the $ 0.88 quarterly dividend declaration , our expected annual dividend is $ 3.52 per share , which reflects an increase of 17.3 percent compared to our fiscal 2019 annual dividend . dividends are subject to the approval of our board of directors and , accordingly , the timing and amount of our dividends are subject to change . 29 results of operations for fiscal 2019 and 2018 to facilitate review of our results of operations , the following table sets forth our financial results for the periods indicated . all information is derived from the consolidated statements of earnings for the fiscal years ended may 26 , 2019 and may 27 , 2018 : fiscal year ended percent change ( in millions ) may 26 , 2019 may 27 , 2018 2019 vs 2018 sales $ 8,510.4 $ 8,080.1 5.3 % costs and expenses : food and beverage 2,412.5 2,303.1 4.8 % restaurant labor 2,771.1 2,614.5 6.0 % restaurant expenses 1,477.8 1,417.1 4.3 % marketing expenses 255.3 252.3 1.2 % general and administrative expenses 405.5 409.8 ( 1.0 ) % depreciation and amortization 336.7 313.1 7.5 % impairments and disposal of assets , net 19.0 3.4 nm total operating costs and expenses $ 7,677.9 $ 7,313.3 5.0 % operating income 832.5 766.8 8.6 % interest , net 50.2 161.1 ( 68.8 ) % earnings before income taxes 782.3 605.7 29.2 % income tax expense ( 1 ) 63.7 1.9 nm earnings from continuing operations $ 718.6 $ 603.8 19.0 % losses from discontinued operations , net of tax ( 5.2 ) ( 7.8 ) nm net earnings $ 713.4 $ 596.0 19.7 % ( 1 ) effective tax rate 8.1 % 0.3 % nm- not meaningful . percentage increases and decreases over 100 percent were not considered meaningful . the following table details the number of company-owned restaurants currently reported in continuing operations , compared with the number open at the end of fiscal 2018 : replace_table_token_9_th ( 1 ) includes six locations in canada . ( 2 ) includes the 11 franchised restaurants acquired on august 28 , 2017 . ( 3 ) includes one the capital burger restaurant . 30 sales the following table presents our company-owned restaurant sales , u.s. same-restaurant sales ( srs ) and average annual sales per restaurant by brand for the periods indicated : replace_table_token_10_th ( 1 ) same-restaurant sales is a year-over-year comparison of each period 's sales volumes for a 52-week year and is limited to restaurants open at least 16 months . ( 2 ) average annual sales are calculated as net sales divided by total restaurant operating weeks multiplied by 52 weeks . story_separator_special_tag we are not aware of any non-performance under these arrangements that would result in our having to perform in accordance with the terms of the guarantees . 37 our adjusted debt to adjusted total capital ratio ( which includes 6.00 times the combined total annual minimum rent for operating leases and annual minimum lease payments for financing leases on a consolidated basis of $ 359.5 million and $ 342.7 million for the fiscal years ended may 26 , 2019 and may 27 , 2018 , respectively , as components of adjusted debt and adjusted total capital ) was 58 percent and 60 percent as of may 26 , 2019 and may 27 , 2018 , respectively . we include the lease-debt equivalent and contractual lease guarantees in our adjusted debt to adjusted total capital ratio reported to shareholders , as we believe its inclusion better represents the optimal capital structure that we target from period to period and because it is consistent with the calculation of the covenant under our revolving credit agreement . based on these ratios , we believe our financial condition is strong . the composition of our capital structure is shown in the following table : replace_table_token_14_th net cash flows provided by operating activities from continuing operations were $ 1.27 billion and $ 1.02 billion in fiscal 2019 and 2018 , respectively . net cash flows provided by operating activities include net earnings from continuing operations of $ 718.6 million and $ 603.8 million in fiscal 2019 and 2018 , respectively . net cash flows provided by operating activities from continuing operations increased in fiscal 2019 primarily due to higher net earnings from continuing operations . net cash flows used in investing activities from continuing operations were $ 462.6 million in fiscal 2019 compared to net cash flows used in investing activities from continuing operations of $ 451.1 million in fiscal 2018 . capital expenditures incurred principally for building new restaurants , remodeling existing restaurants , replacing equipment , and technology initiatives were $ 452.0 million in fiscal 2019 , compared to $ 396.0 million in fiscal 2018 . for fiscal 2018 , net cash used in the acquisition of 11 cheddar 's scratch kitchen restaurants from an existing franchisee was $ 40.4 million . net cash flows used in financing activities from continuing operations were $ 484.2 million in fiscal 2019 , compared to $ 636.6 million in fiscal 2018 . net cash flows used in financing activities in fiscal 2019 included dividend payments of $ 370.8 million and share repurchases of $ 207.5 million , partially offset by proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options and proceeds from financing lease obligations . net cash flows used in financing activities in fiscal 2018 reflected long-term debt payments of $ 408.2 million , including repurchase premiums and make-whole provisions , repayments of short-term debt of $ 960.0 million , dividend payments of $ 313.5 million and share repurchases of $ 234.8 million , partially offset by proceeds from the issuance of short-term debt of $ 960.0 million , proceeds from the issuance of $ 300.0 million of senior notes and proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options . our defined benefit and other postretirement benefit costs and liabilities are determined using various actuarial assumptions and methodologies prescribed under financial accounting standards board accounting standards codification topic 715 , compensation - retirement benefits and topic 712 , compensation - nonretirement postemployment benefits . we use certain assumptions including , but not limited to , the selection of a discount rate and expected long-term rate of return on plan assets . we set the discount rate assumption annually for each plan at its valuation date to reflect the yield of high-quality fixed-income debt 38 instruments , with lives that approximate the maturity of the plan benefits . at may 26 , 2019 , our discount rate was 2.66 percent and 3.95 percent , respectively , for our defined benefit and postretirement benefit plans . the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based upon several factors , including our historical assumptions compared with actual results , an analysis of current market conditions , asset allocations and the views of leading financial advisers and economists . our expected long-term rate of return on plan assets for our defined benefit plans was 4.25 percent for fiscal year 2019 and 5.75 percent for fiscal year 2018 . we expect to contribute approximately $ 0.4 million to our defined benefit pension plans and approximately $ 1.4 million to our postretirement benefit plan during fiscal 2020 . in april 2018 , our benefit plans committee approved the termination of our primary non-contributory defined benefit pension plan ( the retirement income plan for darden restaurants , inc. ) . the termination of the plan involves many steps , including filing information with the irs and the pension benefit guaranty corporation and obtaining proper approvals . we anticipate the termination process , which culminates in either the settlement or transfer of participant benefits , will be completed in fiscal 2020. the plan termination is expected to result in non-cash pre-tax pension settlement expense in fiscal 2020 of approximately $ 130.0 million . we have recognized net losses of $ 100.4 million ( net of tax ) and of $ 4.9 million ( net of tax ) as components of accumulated other comprehensive income ( loss ) for the defined benefit plans and postretirement benefit plan , respectively , as of may 26 , 2019 . these net losses represent changes in the amount of the projected benefit obligation and plan assets resulting from differences in the assumptions used and actual experience . we believe our defined benefit and postretirement benefit plan assumptions are appropriate based upon the factors discussed above . however , other assumptions could also be reasonably applied that could differ from the assumptions used . these changes in assumptions would not significantly impact our funding requirements . we

liquidity and capital resources cash flows generated from operating activities are our principal source of liquidity , which we use to finance capital expenditures for new restaurants and to remodel and maintain existing restaurants , to pay dividends to our shareholders and to repurchase shares of our common stock . since substantially all of our sales are for cash and cash equivalents , and accounts 35 payable are generally paid in 5 to 60 days , we are able to carry current liabilities in excess of current assets . in addition to cash flows from operations , we use a combination of long-term and short-term borrowings to fund our capital needs . we currently manage our business and financial ratios to target an investment-grade bond rating , which has historically allowed flexible access to financing at reasonable costs . our publicly issued long-term debt currently carries the following ratings : moody 's investors service “ baa2 ” ; standard & poor 's “ bbb ” ; and fitch “ bbb ” . our commercial paper has ratings of : moody 's investors service “ p-2 ” ; standard & poor 's “ a-2 ” ; and fitch “ f-2 ” . these ratings are as of the date of the filing of this report and have been obtained with the understanding that moody 's investors service , standard & poor 's and fitch will continue to monitor our credit and make future adjustments to these ratings to the extent warranted . the ratings are not a recommendation to buy , sell or hold our securities , may be changed , superseded or withdrawn at any time and should be evaluated independently of any other rating . we maintain a $ 750.0 million revolving credit agreement ( revolving credit agreement ) with bank of america , n.a . ( boa ) , as administrative agent , and the lenders and other agents party thereto .


 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 cash flows generated from operating activities are our principal source of liquidity , which we use to finance capital expenditures for new restaurants and to remodel and maintain existing restaurants , to pay dividends to our shareholders and to repurchase shares of our common stock . since substantially all of our sales are for cash and cash equivalents , and accounts 35 payable are generally paid in 5 to 60 days , we are able to carry current liabilities in excess of current assets . in addition to cash flows from operations , we use a combination of long-term and short-term borrowings to fund our capital needs . we currently manage our business and financial ratios to target an investment-grade bond rating , which has historically allowed flexible access to financing at reasonable costs . our publicly issued long-term debt currently carries the following ratings : moody 's investors service “ baa2 ” ; standard & poor 's “ bbb ” ; and fitch “ bbb ” . our commercial paper has ratings of : moody 's investors service “ p-2 ” ; standard & poor 's “ a-2 ” ; and fitch “ f-2 ” . these ratings are as of the date of the filing of this report and have been obtained with the understanding that moody 's investors service , standard & poor 's and fitch will continue to monitor our credit and make future adjustments to these ratings to the extent warranted . the ratings are not a recommendation to buy , sell or hold our securities , may be changed , superseded or withdrawn at any time and should be evaluated independently of any other rating . we maintain a $ 750.0 million revolving credit agreement ( revolving credit agreement ) with bank of america , n.a . ( boa ) , as administrative agent , and the lenders and other agents party thereto .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : increasing same-restaurant sales can improve segment profit because these incremental sales provide better leverage of our fixed and semi-fixed restaurant-level costs . a restaurant brand can generate same-restaurant sales increases through increases in guest traffic , increases in the average guest check , or a combination of the two . the average guest check can be impacted by menu price changes and by the mix of menu items sold . for each restaurant brand , we gather daily sales data and regularly analyze the guest traffic counts and the mix of menu items sold to aid in developing menu pricing , product offerings and promotional strategies . we focus on balancing our pricing and product offerings with other initiatives to produce sustainable same-restaurant sales growth . we compute same-restaurant sales using restaurants open at least 16 months because this period is generally required for new restaurant sales levels to normalize . sales at newly opened restaurants generally do not make a significant contribution to profitability in their initial months of operation due to operating or integration inefficiencies . our sales and expenses can be impacted significantly by the number and timing of new restaurant openings and closings , and relocations and remodeling of existing restaurants . pre-opening expenses each period reflect the costs associated with opening new restaurants in current and future periods . 28 fiscal 2019 financial highlights our sales from continuing operations were $ 8.51 billion in fiscal 2019 compared to $ 8.08 billion in fiscal 2018 . the 5.3 percent increase in sales from continuing operations was primarily driven by revenue from the addition of 39 net new company-owned restaurants and a combined darden same-restaurant sales increase of 2.5 percent . net earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2019 were $ 718.6 million ( $ 5.73 per diluted share ) compared with net earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2018 of $ 603.8 million ( $ 4.79 per diluted share ) . net earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2019 increased 19.0 percent and diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 19.6 percent compared with fiscal 2018 . our net loss from discontinued operations was $ 5.2 million ( $ 0.04 per diluted share ) for fiscal 2019 , compared with a net loss from discontinued operations of $ 7.8 million ( $ 0.06 per diluted share ) for fiscal 2018 . when combined with results from continuing operations , our diluted net earnings per share were $ 5.69 and $ 4.73 for fiscal 2019 and 2018 , respectively . outlook we expect fiscal 2020 sales from continuing operations to increase between 5.3 percent and 6.3 percent , driven by the impact of the 53 rd week in fiscal 2020 , combined darden same-restaurant sales growth of 1.0 percent to 2.0 percent and approximately 50 new restaurants . in fiscal 2020 , we expect our annual effective tax rate to be between 10.0 percent and 11.0 percent and we expect capital expenditures incurred to build new restaurants , remodel and maintain existing restaurants and technology initiatives to be between $ 450.0 million and $ 500.0 million . in june 2019 , we announced a quarterly dividend of $ 0.88 per share , payable on august 1 , 2019 . based on the $ 0.88 quarterly dividend declaration , our expected annual dividend is $ 3.52 per share , which reflects an increase of 17.3 percent compared to our fiscal 2019 annual dividend . dividends are subject to the approval of our board of directors and , accordingly , the timing and amount of our dividends are subject to change . 29 results of operations for fiscal 2019 and 2018 to facilitate review of our results of operations , the following table sets forth our financial results for the periods indicated . all information is derived from the consolidated statements of earnings for the fiscal years ended may 26 , 2019 and may 27 , 2018 : fiscal year ended percent change ( in millions ) may 26 , 2019 may 27 , 2018 2019 vs 2018 sales $ 8,510.4 $ 8,080.1 5.3 % costs and expenses : food and beverage 2,412.5 2,303.1 4.8 % restaurant labor 2,771.1 2,614.5 6.0 % restaurant expenses 1,477.8 1,417.1 4.3 % marketing expenses 255.3 252.3 1.2 % general and administrative expenses 405.5 409.8 ( 1.0 ) % depreciation and amortization 336.7 313.1 7.5 % impairments and disposal of assets , net 19.0 3.4 nm total operating costs and expenses $ 7,677.9 $ 7,313.3 5.0 % operating income 832.5 766.8 8.6 % interest , net 50.2 161.1 ( 68.8 ) % earnings before income taxes 782.3 605.7 29.2 % income tax expense ( 1 ) 63.7 1.9 nm earnings from continuing operations $ 718.6 $ 603.8 19.0 % losses from discontinued operations , net of tax ( 5.2 ) ( 7.8 ) nm net earnings $ 713.4 $ 596.0 19.7 % ( 1 ) effective tax rate 8.1 % 0.3 % nm- not meaningful . percentage increases and decreases over 100 percent were not considered meaningful . the following table details the number of company-owned restaurants currently reported in continuing operations , compared with the number open at the end of fiscal 2018 : replace_table_token_9_th ( 1 ) includes six locations in canada . ( 2 ) includes the 11 franchised restaurants acquired on august 28 , 2017 . ( 3 ) includes one the capital burger restaurant . 30 sales the following table presents our company-owned restaurant sales , u.s. same-restaurant sales ( srs ) and average annual sales per restaurant by brand for the periods indicated : replace_table_token_10_th ( 1 ) same-restaurant sales is a year-over-year comparison of each period 's sales volumes for a 52-week year and is limited to restaurants open at least 16 months . ( 2 ) average annual sales are calculated as net sales divided by total restaurant operating weeks multiplied by 52 weeks . story_separator_special_tag we are not aware of any non-performance under these arrangements that would result in our having to perform in accordance with the terms of the guarantees . 37 our adjusted debt to adjusted total capital ratio ( which includes 6.00 times the combined total annual minimum rent for operating leases and annual minimum lease payments for financing leases on a consolidated basis of $ 359.5 million and $ 342.7 million for the fiscal years ended may 26 , 2019 and may 27 , 2018 , respectively , as components of adjusted debt and adjusted total capital ) was 58 percent and 60 percent as of may 26 , 2019 and may 27 , 2018 , respectively . we include the lease-debt equivalent and contractual lease guarantees in our adjusted debt to adjusted total capital ratio reported to shareholders , as we believe its inclusion better represents the optimal capital structure that we target from period to period and because it is consistent with the calculation of the covenant under our revolving credit agreement . based on these ratios , we believe our financial condition is strong . the composition of our capital structure is shown in the following table : replace_table_token_14_th net cash flows provided by operating activities from continuing operations were $ 1.27 billion and $ 1.02 billion in fiscal 2019 and 2018 , respectively . net cash flows provided by operating activities include net earnings from continuing operations of $ 718.6 million and $ 603.8 million in fiscal 2019 and 2018 , respectively . net cash flows provided by operating activities from continuing operations increased in fiscal 2019 primarily due to higher net earnings from continuing operations . net cash flows used in investing activities from continuing operations were $ 462.6 million in fiscal 2019 compared to net cash flows used in investing activities from continuing operations of $ 451.1 million in fiscal 2018 . capital expenditures incurred principally for building new restaurants , remodeling existing restaurants , replacing equipment , and technology initiatives were $ 452.0 million in fiscal 2019 , compared to $ 396.0 million in fiscal 2018 . for fiscal 2018 , net cash used in the acquisition of 11 cheddar 's scratch kitchen restaurants from an existing franchisee was $ 40.4 million . net cash flows used in financing activities from continuing operations were $ 484.2 million in fiscal 2019 , compared to $ 636.6 million in fiscal 2018 . net cash flows used in financing activities in fiscal 2019 included dividend payments of $ 370.8 million and share repurchases of $ 207.5 million , partially offset by proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options and proceeds from financing lease obligations . net cash flows used in financing activities in fiscal 2018 reflected long-term debt payments of $ 408.2 million , including repurchase premiums and make-whole provisions , repayments of short-term debt of $ 960.0 million , dividend payments of $ 313.5 million and share repurchases of $ 234.8 million , partially offset by proceeds from the issuance of short-term debt of $ 960.0 million , proceeds from the issuance of $ 300.0 million of senior notes and proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options . our defined benefit and other postretirement benefit costs and liabilities are determined using various actuarial assumptions and methodologies prescribed under financial accounting standards board accounting standards codification topic 715 , compensation - retirement benefits and topic 712 , compensation - nonretirement postemployment benefits . we use certain assumptions including , but not limited to , the selection of a discount rate and expected long-term rate of return on plan assets . we set the discount rate assumption annually for each plan at its valuation date to reflect the yield of high-quality fixed-income debt 38 instruments , with lives that approximate the maturity of the plan benefits . at may 26 , 2019 , our discount rate was 2.66 percent and 3.95 percent , respectively , for our defined benefit and postretirement benefit plans . the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based upon several factors , including our historical assumptions compared with actual results , an analysis of current market conditions , asset allocations and the views of leading financial advisers and economists . our expected long-term rate of return on plan assets for our defined benefit plans was 4.25 percent for fiscal year 2019 and 5.75 percent for fiscal year 2018 . we expect to contribute approximately $ 0.4 million to our defined benefit pension plans and approximately $ 1.4 million to our postretirement benefit plan during fiscal 2020 . in april 2018 , our benefit plans committee approved the termination of our primary non-contributory defined benefit pension plan ( the retirement income plan for darden restaurants , inc. ) . the termination of the plan involves many steps , including filing information with the irs and the pension benefit guaranty corporation and obtaining proper approvals . we anticipate the termination process , which culminates in either the settlement or transfer of participant benefits , will be completed in fiscal 2020. the plan termination is expected to result in non-cash pre-tax pension settlement expense in fiscal 2020 of approximately $ 130.0 million . we have recognized net losses of $ 100.4 million ( net of tax ) and of $ 4.9 million ( net of tax ) as components of accumulated other comprehensive income ( loss ) for the defined benefit plans and postretirement benefit plan , respectively , as of may 26 , 2019 . these net losses represent changes in the amount of the projected benefit obligation and plan assets resulting from differences in the assumptions used and actual experience . we believe our defined benefit and postretirement benefit plan assumptions are appropriate based upon the factors discussed above . however , other assumptions could also be reasonably applied that could differ from the assumptions used . these changes in assumptions would not significantly impact our funding requirements . we

