gross profit for plant nutrition north america was favorably impacted by higher sales volumes and lower per-unit product costs , which were partially offset by increased per-unit shipping and handling costs and higher depreciation expense during 2017. a $ 61.6 million decrease in salt segment gross margin partially offset the combined plant nutrition business ' increase . the decrease resulted from lower sales volumes , increased per-unit product and increased shipping and handling costs , and higher depreciation expense . gross profit & gross margin commentary : 2015 – 2016 gross profit : decreased 9 % , or $ 30.6 million ; gross margin decreased 4 percentage points to 26 % from 30 % salt gross profit declined $ 17.1 million primarily due to reduced sales prices and higher per-unit production costs . the decrease was partially offset by lower logistics costs . the plant nutrition business , on a combined basis , contributed $ 10.8 million to the decrease in gross profit primarily due to lower average sales prices realized in our plant nutrition north america segment , partially offset by the inclusion of the results from produquímica following the acquisition in october 2016. in addition , plant nutrition north america experienced higher per-unit shipping and handling costs . other expenses and income commentary : 2016 – 2017 sg & a : increased $ 42.5 million , which represented a 1.3 percentage points of sales increase to 12.3 % from 11.0 % the increase in sg & a expense was primarily due to the full year inclusion of produquímica in our operating results in 2017 and approximately $ 2 million in higher corporate depreciation related to a significant software system upgrade . in addition , we incurred charges of approximately $ 2 million related to ongoing restructuring activities primarily impacting corporate sg & a . interest expense : increased $ 18.8 million to $ 52.9 million the increase was primarily due to our higher aggregate debt level driven by the acquisition of produquímica , which was partially offset by lower interest rates due to the refinancing of our term loans and revolving credit facility in april 2016. net ( earnings ) loss in equity investee : increased from a loss of $ 1.4 million to earnings of $ 0.8 million the $ 0.8 million of earnings in 2017 represents our share of fermavi eletroquímica ltda . 's ( “ fermavi ” ) net earnings . as a result of the full acquisition of produquímica , we hold a 50 % interest in fermavi , which was previously held by produquímica . the $ 1.4 million loss in 2016 was primarily comprised of our share of produquímica 's net loss based on our initial 35 % equity interest in produquímica prior to the full acquisition . gain from remeasurement of equity method investment we recognized a gain of $ 59.3 million in 2016 related to our previously held equity investment in produquímica , which was remeasured to fair value upon our full acquisition of the business in october 2016. other expense ( income ) , net : increased $ 3.3 million to $ 4.4 million the increase was primarily due to foreign exchange losses of $ 7.1 million in 2017 , compared to losses of $ 0.1 million in 2016. the increase was partially offset by the inclusion of $ 3.0 million of refinancing fees in 2016 and increased interest income in 2017. income tax expense : increased $ 25.4 million to $ 60.0 million income tax expense and our income tax rate increased in 2017 due to the impact of u.s. tax reform , which resulted in an increase in tax expense of $ 46.8 million , and due to a tax settlement agreement . these increases were partially offset by the release of valuation allowances related to our brazil business . our effective tax rate was 58 % in 2017 and 18 % in 2016. our effective tax rates were impacted by u.s. tax reform and a tax settlement agreement in 2017 and the non-taxable gain recognized from the remeasurement of our previously held equity investment in produquímica in 2016. replace_table_token_38_th compass minerals international , inc. our income tax provision in both periods differs from the u.s. statutory rate primarily due to u.s. statutory depletion , domestic manufacturing deductions , state income taxes , foreign income , mining and withholding taxes and interest expense recognition differences for tax and financial reporting purposes . other expenses and income commentary : 2015 – 2016 sg & a : increased $ 16.2 million , which represented a 1.1 percentage points of sales increase to 9.9 % from 11.0 % the increase in expense was due to the inclusion of produquímica 's results and higher expenses in our plant nutrition north america segment due to the $ 3.1 million partial impairment of our wolf trax trade name and corporate restructuring costs . this increase was partially offset by a decrease of $ 2.0 million in corporate professional services and a decrease of $ 1.8 million in marketing expenses in our plant nutrition north america and salt segments . interest expense : increased $ 12.6 million to $ 34.1 million the increase was primarily due to our higher aggregate debt level driven by the acquisition of produquímica , which was partially offset by lower interest rates due to the refinancing of our term loans and revolving credit facility in april 2016. net ( earnings ) loss in equity investee : loss of $ 1.4 million the $ 1.4 million in 2016 was primarily comprised of our share of produquímica 's net loss based on our initial 35 % equity interest in produquímica prior to the full acquisition . story_separator_special_tag net cash flows provided by operating activities were $ 167.3 million . » net earnings were $ 162.7 million which included a non-cash remeasurement gain of $ 59.3 million related to the acquisition of produquímica . » non-cash depreciation and amortization expense was $ 90.3 million . » working capital items were a use of operating cash flows of $ 31.7 million . net cash flows provided by operating activities were $ 137.9 million . » net earnings were $ 159.2 million . » non-cash depreciation and amortization expense was $ 78.3 million . » working capital items were a use of operating cash flows of $ 111.0 million . investing activities : net cash flows used by investing activities were $ 119.0 million . » included $ 114.1 million of capital expenditures . net cash flows used by investing activities were $ 467.8 million . » included $ 182.2 million of capital expenditures and cash payments of $ 4.7 million relating to our previously held equity investment and $ 277.7 million for the full acquisition of produquímica . net cash flows used by investing activities were $ 335.4 million . » included $ 217.6 million of capital expenditures and an equity investment of $ 116.4 million . financing activities : net cash flows used by financing activities were $ 73.4 million . » included net proceeds from issuance of debt of $ 38.7 million , payments of dividends of $ 97.5 million and payments of $ 14.7 million related to contingent consideration from the produquímica acquisition . net cash flows provided by financing activities were $ 314.6 million . » included net proceeds from issuance of debt of $ 416.7 million , payments of dividends of $ 94.1 million and payments of $ 8.5 million related to the refinancing of debt . net cash flows provided by financing activities were $ 14.2 million . » primarily related to new debt used to finance the produquímica investment of $ 100 million , partially offset by the payment of dividends of $ 89.4 million . replace_table_token_46_th compass minerals international , inc. story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : inherit ; font-size:8pt ; `` > we lease property and equipment under non-cancelable operating and capital leases for varying periods . ( c ) we have contracts to purchase certain amounts of electricity , equipment and raw materials . in addition , we have minimum throughput commitments in certain depots and warehouses . ( d ) note 8 to our consolidated financial statements provides additional information . ( e ) note 11 to our consolidated financial statements provides additional information . sensitivity analysis related to ebitda and adjusted ebitda management uses a variety of measures to evaluate our performance . while our consolidated financial statements , taken as a whole , provide an understanding of our overall results of operations , financial condition and cash flows , we analyze components of the consolidated financial statements to identify certain trends and evaluate specific performance areas . in addition to using u.s. generally accepted accounting principles ( “ gaap ” ) financial measures , such as gross profit , net earnings and cash flows generated by operating activities , management uses ebitda and adjusted ebitda . both ebitda and adjusted ebitda are non-gaap financial measures used to evaluate the operating performance of our core business operations because our resource allocation , financing methods and cost of capital , and income tax positions are managed at a corporate level , apart from the activities of the operating segments , and the operating facilities are located in different taxing jurisdictions , which can cause considerable variation in net earnings . we also use ebitda and adjusted ebitda to assess our operating performance and return on capital against other companies , and to evaluate potential acquisitions or other capital projects . ebitda and adjusted ebitda are not calculated under u.s. gaap and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net earnings , cash flows or other financial data prepared in accordance with u.s. gaap or as a measure of our overall profitability or liquidity . ebitda and adjusted ebitda exclude interest expense , income taxes and depreciation and amortization , each of which are an essential element of our cost structure and can not be eliminated . furthermore , adjusted ebitda excludes other cash and non-cash items , including restructuring costs , refinancing costs and other ( income ) expense . our borrowings are a significant component of our capital structure and interest expense is a continuing cost of debt . we are also required to pay income taxes , a required and ongoing consequence of our operations . we have a significant investment in capital assets and depreciation and amortization reflect the utilization of those assets in order to generate revenues . consequently , any measure that excludes these elements has material limitations . while ebitda and adjusted ebitda are frequently used as measures of operating performance , these terms are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to the potential inconsistencies in the method of calculation . replace_table_token_49_th compass minerals international , inc. the calculation of ebitda and adjusted ebitda as used by management is set forth in the table below ( in millions ) . replace_table_token_50_th in 2017 , we incurred charges of $ 4.3 million related to ongoing restructuring activities . key adjustments in 2016 included a gain of $ 59.3 million related to the remeasurement of our previously held equity investment in produquímica ( see note 3 to our consolidated financial statements ) and $ 8.4 million of costs in connection with the acquisition of produquímica , primarily related to the step-up of finished goods inventory to fair value , which was recorded in product cost as the inventory was sold . in the fourth quarter of 2016 , we also partially wrote-down a trade name acquired in our wolf trax acquisition . ebitda also includes other

capital resources we believe our primary sources of liquidity will continue to be cash flow from operations and borrowings under our revolving credit facility . we believe that our current banking syndicate is secure and believe we will have access to our entire revolving credit facility . we expect that ongoing requirements for debt service and committed or sustaining capital expenditures will primarily be funded from these sources . our debt service obligations could , under certain circumstances , materially affect our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our debt obligations . see item 1a. , “ risk factors – our indebtedness and ability to pay our indebtedness could adversely affect our business and financial condition. ” furthermore , cmi is a holding company with no operations of its own and is dependent on its subsidiaries for cash flow . as discussed in note 9 to our consolidated financial statements , at december 31 , 2017 , we had $ 1.37 billion of outstanding indebtedness consisting of $ 250.0 million under our 4.875 % notes , $ 1.01 billion of borrowings outstanding under our senior secured credit facilities ( consisting of term loans and a revolving credit facility ) , including $ 168.9 million borrowed against our revolving credit facility , and $ 112.9 million of debt related to our produquímica business in brazil . letters of credit totaling $ 8.4 million as of december 31 , 2017 , reduced available borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility to $ 122.7 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.
     ```capital resources we believe our primary sources of liquidity will continue to be cash flow from operations and borrowings under our revolving credit facility . we believe that our current banking syndicate is secure and believe we will have access to our entire revolving credit facility . we expect that ongoing requirements for debt service and committed or sustaining capital expenditures will primarily be funded from these sources . our debt service obligations could , under certain circumstances , materially affect our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our debt obligations . see item 1a. , “ risk factors – our indebtedness and ability to pay our indebtedness could adversely affect our business and financial condition. ” furthermore , cmi is a holding company with no operations of its own and is dependent on its subsidiaries for cash flow . as discussed in note 9 to our consolidated financial statements , at december 31 , 2017 , we had $ 1.37 billion of outstanding indebtedness consisting of $ 250.0 million under our 4.875 % notes , $ 1.01 billion of borrowings outstanding under our senior secured credit facilities ( consisting of term loans and a revolving credit facility ) , including $ 168.9 million borrowed against our revolving credit facility , and $ 112.9 million of debt related to our produquímica business in brazil . letters of credit totaling $ 8.4 million as of december 31 , 2017 , reduced available borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility to $ 122.7 million .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : gross profit for plant nutrition north america was favorably impacted by higher sales volumes and lower per-unit product costs , which were partially offset by increased per-unit shipping and handling costs and higher depreciation expense during 2017. a $ 61.6 million decrease in salt segment gross margin partially offset the combined plant nutrition business ' increase . the decrease resulted from lower sales volumes , increased per-unit product and increased shipping and handling costs , and higher depreciation expense . gross profit & gross margin commentary : 2015 – 2016 gross profit : decreased 9 % , or $ 30.6 million ; gross margin decreased 4 percentage points to 26 % from 30 % salt gross profit declined $ 17.1 million primarily due to reduced sales prices and higher per-unit production costs . the decrease was partially offset by lower logistics costs . the plant nutrition business , on a combined basis , contributed $ 10.8 million to the decrease in gross profit primarily due to lower average sales prices realized in our plant nutrition north america segment , partially offset by the inclusion of the results from produquímica following the acquisition in october 2016. in addition , plant nutrition north america experienced higher per-unit shipping and handling costs . other expenses and income commentary : 2016 – 2017 sg & a : increased $ 42.5 million , which represented a 1.3 percentage points of sales increase to 12.3 % from 11.0 % the increase in sg & a expense was primarily due to the full year inclusion of produquímica in our operating results in 2017 and approximately $ 2 million in higher corporate depreciation related to a significant software system upgrade . in addition , we incurred charges of approximately $ 2 million related to ongoing restructuring activities primarily impacting corporate sg & a . interest expense : increased $ 18.8 million to $ 52.9 million the increase was primarily due to our higher aggregate debt level driven by the acquisition of produquímica , which was partially offset by lower interest rates due to the refinancing of our term loans and revolving credit facility in april 2016. net ( earnings ) loss in equity investee : increased from a loss of $ 1.4 million to earnings of $ 0.8 million the $ 0.8 million of earnings in 2017 represents our share of fermavi eletroquímica ltda . 's ( “ fermavi ” ) net earnings . as a result of the full acquisition of produquímica , we hold a 50 % interest in fermavi , which was previously held by produquímica . the $ 1.4 million loss in 2016 was primarily comprised of our share of produquímica 's net loss based on our initial 35 % equity interest in produquímica prior to the full acquisition . gain from remeasurement of equity method investment we recognized a gain of $ 59.3 million in 2016 related to our previously held equity investment in produquímica , which was remeasured to fair value upon our full acquisition of the business in october 2016. other expense ( income ) , net : increased $ 3.3 million to $ 4.4 million the increase was primarily due to foreign exchange losses of $ 7.1 million in 2017 , compared to losses of $ 0.1 million in 2016. the increase was partially offset by the inclusion of $ 3.0 million of refinancing fees in 2016 and increased interest income in 2017. income tax expense : increased $ 25.4 million to $ 60.0 million income tax expense and our income tax rate increased in 2017 due to the impact of u.s. tax reform , which resulted in an increase in tax expense of $ 46.8 million , and due to a tax settlement agreement . these increases were partially offset by the release of valuation allowances related to our brazil business . our effective tax rate was 58 % in 2017 and 18 % in 2016. our effective tax rates were impacted by u.s. tax reform and a tax settlement agreement in 2017 and the non-taxable gain recognized from the remeasurement of our previously held equity investment in produquímica in 2016. replace_table_token_38_th compass minerals international , inc. our income tax provision in both periods differs from the u.s. statutory rate primarily due to u.s. statutory depletion , domestic manufacturing deductions , state income taxes , foreign income , mining and withholding taxes and interest expense recognition differences for tax and financial reporting purposes . other expenses and income commentary : 2015 – 2016 sg & a : increased $ 16.2 million , which represented a 1.1 percentage points of sales increase to 9.9 % from 11.0 % the increase in expense was due to the inclusion of produquímica 's results and higher expenses in our plant nutrition north america segment due to the $ 3.1 million partial impairment of our wolf trax trade name and corporate restructuring costs . this increase was partially offset by a decrease of $ 2.0 million in corporate professional services and a decrease of $ 1.8 million in marketing expenses in our plant nutrition north america and salt segments . interest expense : increased $ 12.6 million to $ 34.1 million the increase was primarily due to our higher aggregate debt level driven by the acquisition of produquímica , which was partially offset by lower interest rates due to the refinancing of our term loans and revolving credit facility in april 2016. net ( earnings ) loss in equity investee : loss of $ 1.4 million the $ 1.4 million in 2016 was primarily comprised of our share of produquímica 's net loss based on our initial 35 % equity interest in produquímica prior to the full acquisition . story_separator_special_tag net cash flows provided by operating activities were $ 167.3 million . » net earnings were $ 162.7 million which included a non-cash remeasurement gain of $ 59.3 million related to the acquisition of produquímica . » non-cash depreciation and amortization expense was $ 90.3 million . » working capital items were a use of operating cash flows of $ 31.7 million . net cash flows provided by operating activities were $ 137.9 million . » net earnings were $ 159.2 million . » non-cash depreciation and amortization expense was $ 78.3 million . » working capital items were a use of operating cash flows of $ 111.0 million . investing activities : net cash flows used by investing activities were $ 119.0 million . » included $ 114.1 million of capital expenditures . net cash flows used by investing activities were $ 467.8 million . » included $ 182.2 million of capital expenditures and cash payments of $ 4.7 million relating to our previously held equity investment and $ 277.7 million for the full acquisition of produquímica . net cash flows used by investing activities were $ 335.4 million . » included $ 217.6 million of capital expenditures and an equity investment of $ 116.4 million . financing activities : net cash flows used by financing activities were $ 73.4 million . » included net proceeds from issuance of debt of $ 38.7 million , payments of dividends of $ 97.5 million and payments of $ 14.7 million related to contingent consideration from the produquímica acquisition . net cash flows provided by financing activities were $ 314.6 million . » included net proceeds from issuance of debt of $ 416.7 million , payments of dividends of $ 94.1 million and payments of $ 8.5 million related to the refinancing of debt . net cash flows provided by financing activities were $ 14.2 million . » primarily related to new debt used to finance the produquímica investment of $ 100 million , partially offset by the payment of dividends of $ 89.4 million . replace_table_token_46_th compass minerals international , inc. story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : inherit ; font-size:8pt ; `` > we lease property and equipment under non-cancelable operating and capital leases for varying periods . ( c ) we have contracts to purchase certain amounts of electricity , equipment and raw materials . in addition , we have minimum throughput commitments in certain depots and warehouses . ( d ) note 8 to our consolidated financial statements provides additional information . ( e ) note 11 to our consolidated financial statements provides additional information . sensitivity analysis related to ebitda and adjusted ebitda management uses a variety of measures to evaluate our performance . while our consolidated financial statements , taken as a whole , provide an understanding of our overall results of operations , financial condition and cash flows , we analyze components of the consolidated financial statements to identify certain trends and evaluate specific performance areas . in addition to using u.s. generally accepted accounting principles ( “ gaap ” ) financial measures , such as gross profit , net earnings and cash flows generated by operating activities , management uses ebitda and adjusted ebitda . both ebitda and adjusted ebitda are non-gaap financial measures used to evaluate the operating performance of our core business operations because our resource allocation , financing methods and cost of capital , and income tax positions are managed at a corporate level , apart from the activities of the operating segments , and the operating facilities are located in different taxing jurisdictions , which can cause considerable variation in net earnings . we also use ebitda and adjusted ebitda to assess our operating performance and return on capital against other companies , and to evaluate potential acquisitions or other capital projects . ebitda and adjusted ebitda are not calculated under u.s. gaap and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net earnings , cash flows or other financial data prepared in accordance with u.s. gaap or as a measure of our overall profitability or liquidity . ebitda and adjusted ebitda exclude interest expense , income taxes and depreciation and amortization , each of which are an essential element of our cost structure and can not be eliminated . furthermore , adjusted ebitda excludes other cash and non-cash items , including restructuring costs , refinancing costs and other ( income ) expense . our borrowings are a significant component of our capital structure and interest expense is a continuing cost of debt . we are also required to pay income taxes , a required and ongoing consequence of our operations . we have a significant investment in capital assets and depreciation and amortization reflect the utilization of those assets in order to generate revenues . consequently , any measure that excludes these elements has material limitations . while ebitda and adjusted ebitda are frequently used as measures of operating performance , these terms are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to the potential inconsistencies in the method of calculation . replace_table_token_49_th compass minerals international , inc. the calculation of ebitda and adjusted ebitda as used by management is set forth in the table below ( in millions ) . replace_table_token_50_th in 2017 , we incurred charges of $ 4.3 million related to ongoing restructuring activities . key adjustments in 2016 included a gain of $ 59.3 million related to the remeasurement of our previously held equity investment in produquímica ( see note 3 to our consolidated financial statements ) and $ 8.4 million of costs in connection with the acquisition of produquímica , primarily related to the step-up of finished goods inventory to fair value , which was recorded in product cost as the inventory was sold . in the fourth quarter of 2016 , we also partially wrote-down a trade name acquired in our wolf trax acquisition . ebitda also includes other

