a discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2017 can be found under item 7 in our annual report on form 10-k for the fiscal year ended december 31 , 2018 , filed with the securities and exchange commission on february 21 , 2019. results of operations for the year ended december 31 , 2019 compared with the year ended december 31 , 2018 in 2019 , the company posted record sales , operating income , net income , diluted earnings per share , orders , backlog and operating cash flow . the company achieved these results from organic sales growth in both eig and emg , contributions from the 2019 acquisitions of gatan and pdt and 2018 acquisitions of spectro scientific , telular , forza , motec and soundcom , as well as from the company 's operational excellence initiatives . 25 the company 's record backlog , the full year impact of the 2019 acquisitions and continued focus on and implementation of operational excellence initiatives are expected to have a positive impact on the company 's 2020 results . net sales for 2019 were $ 5,158.6 million , an increase of $ 312.7 million or 6.5 % , compared with net sales of $ 4,845.9 million in 2018. the increase in net sales for 2019 was due to 2 % organic sales growth , a 5 % increase from acquisitions , partially offset by unfavorable foreign currency translation . eig net sales were $ 3,322.9 million in 2019 , an increase of 9.7 % , compared with $ 3,029.0 million in 2018. emg net sales were $ 1,835.7 million in 2019 , an increase of 1.0 % , compared with $ 1,816.9 million in 2018. total international sales for 2019 were $ 2,474.9 million or 48.0 % of net sales , an increase of $ 26.4 million or 1.1 % , compared with international sales of $ 2,448.5 million or 50.5 % of net sales in 2018. the increase in international sales was primarily driven by recent acquisitions . export shipments from the united states , which are included in total international sales , were $ 1,306.2 million in 2019 , an increase of $ 36.8 million or 2.9 % , compared with $ 1,269.4 million in 2018. orders for 2019 were $ 5,274.3 million , an increase of $ 222.5 million or 4.4 % , compared with $ 5,051.8 million in 2018. the increase in orders for 2019 was driven by the 2018 and 2019 acquisitions . the company 's backlog of unfilled orders at december 31 , 2019 was $ 1,717.9 million , an increase of $ 115.8 million or 7.2 % , compared with $ 1,602.1 million at december 31 , 2018. segment operating income for 2019 was $ 1,253.2 million , an increase of $ 107.3 million or 9.4 % , compared with segment operating income of $ 1,145.9 million in 2018. segment operating income , as a percentage of net sales , increased to 24.3 % in 2019 , compared with 23.6 % in 2018. the increase in segment operating income and segment operating margins for 2019 resulted primarily from the increase in net sales , as well as the benefits of the company 's operational excellence initiatives . cost of sales for 2019 was $ 3,370.9 million or 65.3 % of net sales , an increase of $ 184.6 million or 5.8 % , compared with $ 3,186.3 million or 65.8 % of net sales for 2018. cost of sales increased primarily due to the increase in net sales noted above . selling , general and administrative expenses for 2019 were $ 610.3 million or 11.8 % of net sales , an increase of $ 26.3 million or 4.5 % , compared with $ 584.0 million or 12.1 % of net sales in 2018. selling , general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to the increase in net sales noted above . consolidated operating income was $ 1,177.4 million or 22.8 % of net sales for 2019 , an increase of $ 101.9 million or 9.5 % , compared with $ 1,075.5 million or 22.2 % of net sales in 2018. interest expense was $ 88.5 million for 2019 , an increase of $ 6.3 million or 7.7 % , compared with $ 82.2 million in 2018. the interest expense increase for 2019 was primarily driven by the 2018 private placement senior notes issued in december 2018 ( $ 475 million and 75 million euros ) and january 2019 ( $ 100 million ) , partially offset by a decrease related to the repayment in full , at maturity , of $ 80 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.35 % private placement senior notes and $ 160 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.08 % private placement senior notes in the third quarter of 2018 , $ 65 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.18 % private placement senior notes in the fourth quarter of 2018 , and $ 100 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.03 % private placement senior notes in the fourth quarter of 2019. other expense , net was $ 19.2 million for 2019 , an increase of $ 13.6 million , compared with $ 5.6 million in 2018. the other expense , net increase for 2019 was primarily due to lower defined benefit pension income included in other expenses . 26 the effective tax rate for 2019 was 19.5 % , compared with 21.2 % in 2018. the lower rate for 2019 mainly reflects higher year over year tax benefits related to share-based payment transactions as well as lower tax cost on foreign source income . story_separator_special_tag in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the goodwill impairment test to changes in the fair value calculations , the company applied a hypothetical 10 % decrease in fair values of each reporting unit . the 2019 results ( expressed as a percentage of carrying value for the respective reporting unit ) showed that , despite the hypothetical 10 % decrease in fair value , the fair values of the company 's reporting units still exceeded their respective carrying values by 77 % to 1,074 % for each of the company 's reporting units . the impairment test for indefinite-lived intangibles other than goodwill ( primarily trademarks and trade names ) consists of a comparison of the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to the carrying value of the asset as of the impairment testing date . the company can elect to perform a qualitative analysis to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair values of its indefinite-lived intangible assets are less than the respective carrying values of those assets . the company elected to bypass performing the qualitative screen . the company may elect to perform the qualitative analysis in future periods . the company estimates the fair value of its indefinite-lived intangibles using the relief from royalty method using level 3 inputs . the company believes the relief from royalty method is a widely used valuation technique for such assets . the fair value derived from the relief from royalty method is measured as the discounted cash flow savings realized from owning such trademarks and trade names and not having to pay a royalty for their use . 32 the company 's acquisitions have generally included a significant goodwill component and the company expects to continue to make acquisitions . at december 31 , 2019 , goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets totaled $ 4,789.4 million or 48.7 % of the company 's total assets . the company completed its required annual impairment tests in the fourth quarter of 2019 and determined that the carrying values of the company 's goodwill and indefinite-lived intangibles were not impaired . there can be no assurance that goodwill or indefinite-lived intangibles impairment will not occur in the future . other intangible assets with finite lives are evaluated for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable . the carrying value of other intangible assets with finite lives is considered impaired when the total projected undiscounted cash flows from those assets are separately identifiable and are less than the carrying value . in that event , a loss is recognized based on the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of those assets . fair value is determined primarily using present value techniques based on projected cash flows from the asset group . pensions . the company has u.s. and foreign defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans . the most significant elements in determining the company 's pension income or expense are the assumed pension liability discount rate and the expected return on plan assets . the pension discount rate reflects the current interest rate at which the pension liabilities could be settled at the valuation date . at the end of each year , the company determines the assumed discount rate to be used to discount plan liabilities . in estimating this rate for 2019 , the company considered rates of return on high-quality , fixed-income investments that have maturities consistent with the anticipated funding requirements of the plan . in estimating the u.s. and foreign discount rates , the company 's actuaries developed a customized discount rate appropriate to the plans ' projected benefit cash flow based on yields derived from a database of long-term bonds at consistent maturity dates . the company determines the expected long-term rate of return based primarily on its expectation of future returns for the pension plans ' investments . additionally , the company considers historical returns on comparable fixed-income and equity investments and adjusts its estimate as deemed appropriate . income taxes . the process of providing for income taxes and determining the related balance sheet accounts requires management to assess uncertainties , make judgments regarding outcomes and utilize estimates . the company conducts a broad range of operations around the world and is therefore subject to complex tax regulations in numerous international taxing jurisdictions , resulting at times in tax audits , disputes and potential litigation , the outcome of which is uncertain . management must make judgments currently about such uncertainties and determine estimates of the company 's tax assets and liabilities . to the extent the final outcome differs , future adjustments to the company 's tax assets and liabilities may be necessary . the company assesses the realizability of its deferred tax assets , taking into consideration the company 's forecast of future taxable income , available net operating loss carryforwards and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the deferred tax assets . based on this assessment , management must evaluate the need for , and the amount of , valuation allowances against the company 's deferred tax assets . to the extent facts and circumstances change in the future , adjustments to the valuation allowances may be required . the company assesses the uncertainty in its tax positions , by applying a minimum recognition threshold which a tax position is required to meet before a tax benefit is recognized in the financial statements . once the minimum threshold is met , using a more likely than not standard , a series of probability estimates is made for each item to properly measure and record a tax benefit . the tax benefit recorded is generally equal to the highest probable outcome that is more than 50 % likely to be realized after full disclosure and resolution of a tax examination . the underlying probabilities are determined based on the best

liquidity and capital resources cash provided by operating activities totaled $ 1,114.4 million in 2019 , an increase of $ 188.9 million or 20.4 % , compared with $ 925.5 million in 2018. the increase in cash provided by operating activities for 2019 was primarily due to higher net income of $ 83.4 million and lower deferred income taxes . free cash flow ( cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures ) was $ 1,012.1 million in 2019 , compared with $ 843.4 million in 2018. ebitda ( earnings before interest , income taxes , depreciation and amortization ) was $ 1,388.3 million in 2019 , compared with $ 1,267.7 million in 2018. free cash flow and ebitda are presented because the company is aware that they are measures used by third parties in evaluating the company . ( see the “ notes to selected financial data ” included in item 6 in this annual report on form 10-k for a reconciliation of u.s. gaap measures to comparable non-gaap measures ) . cash used for investing activities totaled $ 1,150.9 million in 2019 , compared with $ 1,210.0 million in 2018. in 2019 , the company paid $ 1,061.9 , net of cash acquired , to acquire pdt in september 2019 and gatan in october 2019. in 2018 , the company paid $ 1,129.3 million , net of cash acquired , to acquire spectro scientific in november 2018 , telular and forza in october 2018 , motec in june 2018 , soundcom in april 2018 and fmh in january 2018. additions to property , plant and equipment totaled $ 102.3 million in 2019 , compared with $ 82.1 million in 2018 .


 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 provided by operating activities totaled $ 1,114.4 million in 2019 , an increase of $ 188.9 million or 20.4 % , compared with $ 925.5 million in 2018. the increase in cash provided by operating activities for 2019 was primarily due to higher net income of $ 83.4 million and lower deferred income taxes . free cash flow ( cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures ) was $ 1,012.1 million in 2019 , compared with $ 843.4 million in 2018. ebitda ( earnings before interest , income taxes , depreciation and amortization ) was $ 1,388.3 million in 2019 , compared with $ 1,267.7 million in 2018. free cash flow and ebitda are presented because the company is aware that they are measures used by third parties in evaluating the company . ( see the “ notes to selected financial data ” included in item 6 in this annual report on form 10-k for a reconciliation of u.s. gaap measures to comparable non-gaap measures ) . cash used for investing activities totaled $ 1,150.9 million in 2019 , compared with $ 1,210.0 million in 2018. in 2019 , the company paid $ 1,061.9 , net of cash acquired , to acquire pdt in september 2019 and gatan in october 2019. in 2018 , the company paid $ 1,129.3 million , net of cash acquired , to acquire spectro scientific in november 2018 , telular and forza in october 2018 , motec in june 2018 , soundcom in april 2018 and fmh in january 2018. additions to property , plant and equipment totaled $ 102.3 million in 2019 , compared with $ 82.1 million in 2018 .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : a discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2017 can be found under item 7 in our annual report on form 10-k for the fiscal year ended december 31 , 2018 , filed with the securities and exchange commission on february 21 , 2019. results of operations for the year ended december 31 , 2019 compared with the year ended december 31 , 2018 in 2019 , the company posted record sales , operating income , net income , diluted earnings per share , orders , backlog and operating cash flow . the company achieved these results from organic sales growth in both eig and emg , contributions from the 2019 acquisitions of gatan and pdt and 2018 acquisitions of spectro scientific , telular , forza , motec and soundcom , as well as from the company 's operational excellence initiatives . 25 the company 's record backlog , the full year impact of the 2019 acquisitions and continued focus on and implementation of operational excellence initiatives are expected to have a positive impact on the company 's 2020 results . net sales for 2019 were $ 5,158.6 million , an increase of $ 312.7 million or 6.5 % , compared with net sales of $ 4,845.9 million in 2018. the increase in net sales for 2019 was due to 2 % organic sales growth , a 5 % increase from acquisitions , partially offset by unfavorable foreign currency translation . eig net sales were $ 3,322.9 million in 2019 , an increase of 9.7 % , compared with $ 3,029.0 million in 2018. emg net sales were $ 1,835.7 million in 2019 , an increase of 1.0 % , compared with $ 1,816.9 million in 2018. total international sales for 2019 were $ 2,474.9 million or 48.0 % of net sales , an increase of $ 26.4 million or 1.1 % , compared with international sales of $ 2,448.5 million or 50.5 % of net sales in 2018. the increase in international sales was primarily driven by recent acquisitions . export shipments from the united states , which are included in total international sales , were $ 1,306.2 million in 2019 , an increase of $ 36.8 million or 2.9 % , compared with $ 1,269.4 million in 2018. orders for 2019 were $ 5,274.3 million , an increase of $ 222.5 million or 4.4 % , compared with $ 5,051.8 million in 2018. the increase in orders for 2019 was driven by the 2018 and 2019 acquisitions . the company 's backlog of unfilled orders at december 31 , 2019 was $ 1,717.9 million , an increase of $ 115.8 million or 7.2 % , compared with $ 1,602.1 million at december 31 , 2018. segment operating income for 2019 was $ 1,253.2 million , an increase of $ 107.3 million or 9.4 % , compared with segment operating income of $ 1,145.9 million in 2018. segment operating income , as a percentage of net sales , increased to 24.3 % in 2019 , compared with 23.6 % in 2018. the increase in segment operating income and segment operating margins for 2019 resulted primarily from the increase in net sales , as well as the benefits of the company 's operational excellence initiatives . cost of sales for 2019 was $ 3,370.9 million or 65.3 % of net sales , an increase of $ 184.6 million or 5.8 % , compared with $ 3,186.3 million or 65.8 % of net sales for 2018. cost of sales increased primarily due to the increase in net sales noted above . selling , general and administrative expenses for 2019 were $ 610.3 million or 11.8 % of net sales , an increase of $ 26.3 million or 4.5 % , compared with $ 584.0 million or 12.1 % of net sales in 2018. selling , general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to the increase in net sales noted above . consolidated operating income was $ 1,177.4 million or 22.8 % of net sales for 2019 , an increase of $ 101.9 million or 9.5 % , compared with $ 1,075.5 million or 22.2 % of net sales in 2018. interest expense was $ 88.5 million for 2019 , an increase of $ 6.3 million or 7.7 % , compared with $ 82.2 million in 2018. the interest expense increase for 2019 was primarily driven by the 2018 private placement senior notes issued in december 2018 ( $ 475 million and 75 million euros ) and january 2019 ( $ 100 million ) , partially offset by a decrease related to the repayment in full , at maturity , of $ 80 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.35 % private placement senior notes and $ 160 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.08 % private placement senior notes in the third quarter of 2018 , $ 65 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.18 % private placement senior notes in the fourth quarter of 2018 , and $ 100 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.03 % private placement senior notes in the fourth quarter of 2019. other expense , net was $ 19.2 million for 2019 , an increase of $ 13.6 million , compared with $ 5.6 million in 2018. the other expense , net increase for 2019 was primarily due to lower defined benefit pension income included in other expenses . 26 the effective tax rate for 2019 was 19.5 % , compared with 21.2 % in 2018. the lower rate for 2019 mainly reflects higher year over year tax benefits related to share-based payment transactions as well as lower tax cost on foreign source income . story_separator_special_tag in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the goodwill impairment test to changes in the fair value calculations , the company applied a hypothetical 10 % decrease in fair values of each reporting unit . the 2019 results ( expressed as a percentage of carrying value for the respective reporting unit ) showed that , despite the hypothetical 10 % decrease in fair value , the fair values of the company 's reporting units still exceeded their respective carrying values by 77 % to 1,074 % for each of the company 's reporting units . the impairment test for indefinite-lived intangibles other than goodwill ( primarily trademarks and trade names ) consists of a comparison of the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to the carrying value of the asset as of the impairment testing date . the company can elect to perform a qualitative analysis to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair values of its indefinite-lived intangible assets are less than the respective carrying values of those assets . the company elected to bypass performing the qualitative screen . the company may elect to perform the qualitative analysis in future periods . the company estimates the fair value of its indefinite-lived intangibles using the relief from royalty method using level 3 inputs . the company believes the relief from royalty method is a widely used valuation technique for such assets . the fair value derived from the relief from royalty method is measured as the discounted cash flow savings realized from owning such trademarks and trade names and not having to pay a royalty for their use . 32 the company 's acquisitions have generally included a significant goodwill component and the company expects to continue to make acquisitions . at december 31 , 2019 , goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets totaled $ 4,789.4 million or 48.7 % of the company 's total assets . the company completed its required annual impairment tests in the fourth quarter of 2019 and determined that the carrying values of the company 's goodwill and indefinite-lived intangibles were not impaired . there can be no assurance that goodwill or indefinite-lived intangibles impairment will not occur in the future . other intangible assets with finite lives are evaluated for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable . the carrying value of other intangible assets with finite lives is considered impaired when the total projected undiscounted cash flows from those assets are separately identifiable and are less than the carrying value . in that event , a loss is recognized based on the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of those assets . fair value is determined primarily using present value techniques based on projected cash flows from the asset group . pensions . the company has u.s. and foreign defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans . the most significant elements in determining the company 's pension income or expense are the assumed pension liability discount rate and the expected return on plan assets . the pension discount rate reflects the current interest rate at which the pension liabilities could be settled at the valuation date . at the end of each year , the company determines the assumed discount rate to be used to discount plan liabilities . in estimating this rate for 2019 , the company considered rates of return on high-quality , fixed-income investments that have maturities consistent with the anticipated funding requirements of the plan . in estimating the u.s. and foreign discount rates , the company 's actuaries developed a customized discount rate appropriate to the plans ' projected benefit cash flow based on yields derived from a database of long-term bonds at consistent maturity dates . the company determines the expected long-term rate of return based primarily on its expectation of future returns for the pension plans ' investments . additionally , the company considers historical returns on comparable fixed-income and equity investments and adjusts its estimate as deemed appropriate . income taxes . the process of providing for income taxes and determining the related balance sheet accounts requires management to assess uncertainties , make judgments regarding outcomes and utilize estimates . the company conducts a broad range of operations around the world and is therefore subject to complex tax regulations in numerous international taxing jurisdictions , resulting at times in tax audits , disputes and potential litigation , the outcome of which is uncertain . management must make judgments currently about such uncertainties and determine estimates of the company 's tax assets and liabilities . to the extent the final outcome differs , future adjustments to the company 's tax assets and liabilities may be necessary . the company assesses the realizability of its deferred tax assets , taking into consideration the company 's forecast of future taxable income , available net operating loss carryforwards and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the deferred tax assets . based on this assessment , management must evaluate the need for , and the amount of , valuation allowances against the company 's deferred tax assets . to the extent facts and circumstances change in the future , adjustments to the valuation allowances may be required . the company assesses the uncertainty in its tax positions , by applying a minimum recognition threshold which a tax position is required to meet before a tax benefit is recognized in the financial statements . once the minimum threshold is met , using a more likely than not standard , a series of probability estimates is made for each item to properly measure and record a tax benefit . the tax benefit recorded is generally equal to the highest probable outcome that is more than 50 % likely to be realized after full disclosure and resolution of a tax examination . the underlying probabilities are determined based on the best

