we continued reshaping our portfolio in 2017 to align with our financial aspirations , as we closed on the acquisition of williamson-dickie mfg . co. ( `` williamson-dickie `` ) in the fourth quarter of 2017 , and announced the acquisition of icebreaker holdings , ltd. , which we expect to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. further , we completed the sale of the licensing business in 2017 and have announced the planned sale of the nautica ® brand business . on december 22 , 2017 , the u.s. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the tax cuts and jobs act ( “ tax act ” ) . the tax act significantly changes u.s. corporate income tax laws by , among other things , reducing the u.s. corporate income tax rate to 21 % starting in 2018 and moves from a global taxation regime to a modified territorial regime . as part of the legislation , u.s. companies are required to pay a tax on historical earnings generated offshore that have not been repatriated to the u.s. and revalue deferred tax asset and liability positions at the lower federal base tax rate of 21 % . the transitional impact of the tax act resulted in a provisional net vf corporation 2017 form 10-k 21 charge of approximately of $ 465.5 million , or $ 1.15 cents per share , during the fourth quarter of 2017. the execution of our 2021 strategic choices , including the re-shaping of our portfolio , and significant changes to the u.s. corporate income tax laws , delivered the following results in 2017 : 2017 revenues were up 7 % to $ 11.8 billion compared to 2016 . outdoor & action sports coalition revenues increased 8 % over 2016 to $ 8.2 billion , including a 1 % favorable impact from foreign currency . direct-to-consumer revenues increased 17 % over 2016 , including a 1 % favorable impact from foreign currency , and accounted for 32 % of vf 's total revenues in 2017 . vf opened 111 retail stores in 2017 . e-commerce revenues increased 34 % in 2017 . international revenues increased 12 % , including a 1 % favorable impact from foreign currency , and represented 41 % of vf 's total revenues in 2017 . gross margin increased 120 basis points to 50.5 % in 2017 , reflecting benefits from pricing and a mix-shift toward higher margin businesses , partially offset by impacts from foreign currency . story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : din-regular , sans-serif ; font-size:9pt ; color : # 6d6e71 ; `` > foreign income and dividends and establishing a deferred tax liability for foreign withholding taxes . the 2017 effective income tax rate included a net discrete tax expense of $ 438.9 million , which included the provisional net charge of $ 465.5 million related to the tax act , $ 25.2 million of tax benefits related to stock compensation , $ 2.9 million of net tax benefit related to the realization of previously unrecognized tax benefits and interest , and $ 1.9 million of discrete tax expense related to the effects of tax rate changes , exclusive of the tax act . the $ 438.9 million net discrete tax expense in 2017 increased the effective income tax rate by 31.0 % compared to a favorable 3.4 % impact of discrete items in 2016. without discrete items , the effective tax rate during 2017 decreased by approximately 1.3 % primarily due to the negative tax impact related to the 2016 goodwill impairment . the international effective tax rate was 13.1 % and 10.9 % for 2017 and 2016 , respectively . as a result of the above , net income in 2017 was $ 0.7 billion ( $ 1.79 per diluted share ) , compared to $ 1.1 billion ( $ 2.56 per diluted share ) in 2016 . 2016 compared to 2015 in 2016 , gross margin improved 30 basis points , reflecting a 130 basis point benefit from pricing , lower product costs and a mix-shift toward higher margin businesses , which was partially offset by a 20 basis point impact from restructuring activities and a negative 80 basis point impact from foreign currency . selling , general and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenues increased 210 basis points compared to 2015 . this increase was primarily due to restructuring initiatives of $ 31.8 million , a pension settlement charge of $ 50.9 million , investments in our key growth priorities , which include direct-to-consumer , product innovation , demand creation and technology initiatives and the benefit of a $ 16.6 million gain on the sale of a vf outlet ® location in 2015. as a result of management 's decision to merge the lucy ® brand into the north face ® brand , vf recorded a $ 79.6 million noncash impairment charge to write-off the goodwill and intangible assets of the lucy ® reporting unit during the fourth quarter of 2016. for additional information , refer to notes g , h and u to the consolidated financial statements and the “ critical accounting policies and estimates ” section below . in 2016 , operating margin decreased 260 basis points , to 12.4 % from 15.0 % in 2015 . the decrease in operating margin reflects a 170 basis point decrease from goodwill and intangible asset impairment , restructuring , and pension settlement charges that did not occur in 2015 , a negative 60 basis point impact from changes in foreign currency and investments in our key growth priorities , which include direct-to-consumer , product innovation , demand creation and technology initiatives . story_separator_special_tag in the asia-pacific region , revenues increased 6 % primarily driven by strong growth across the region , particularly in china . revenues in the americas ( non-u.s. ) region grew 13 % , reflecting operational growth and a 1 % benefit from foreign currency . international revenues represented 41 % and 40 % of total vf revenues in 2017 and 2016 , respectively . direct-to-consumer operations direct-to-consumer revenues grew 17 % in 2017 compared to growth of 10 % in 2016 , reflecting growth in all regions and in nearly every brand with a retail format . foreign currency favorably impacted direct-to-consumer revenue growth by 1 % in 2017 and negatively impacted direct-to-consumer growth by 1 % in 2016. the increase in direct-to-consumer revenues in both periods was due to comparable store growth for locations open at least twelve months at each reporting date , and an expanding e-commerce business which grew 34 % and 23 % in 2017 and 2016 , respectively . vf opened 111 stores in 2017 , bringing the total number of vf-owned retail stores to 1,518 at december 2017 . direct-to-consumer revenues were 32 % of total vf revenues in 2017 compared to 29 % in 2016 . 28 vf corporation 2017 form 10-k analysis of financial condition balance sheets the williamson-dickie acquisition significantly impacted the december 2017 consolidated balance sheet . accordingly , the table below presents the december 2017 balance sheet accounts excluding the williamson-dickie balances at that date so that the remaining vf balances are comparable with the december 2016 balances . replace_table_token_11_th unless noted otherwise , the discussion that follows relates to vf 's businesses excluding the williamson-dickie balances at december 2017. the discussion refers to significant changes in balances at december 2017 compared to december 2016 : increase in accounts receivable — primarily due to higher wholesale shipments in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in inventories — driven by the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in intangible assets and goodwill — driven by the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . decrease in other assets — primarily due to the cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings of a deferred charge upon the early adoption of the accounting standards update regarding intra-entity asset transfers ; partially offset by an increase in net pension assets for certain defined benefit plans and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in short-term borrowings — due to the increase in commercial paper borrowings primarily related to the funding of the williamson-dickie acquisition . decrease in current portion of long-term debt — due to the repayment of $ 250.0 million of notes that matured during the year . increase in accounts payable — primarily due to the timing of inventory purchases and payments to vendors and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in accrued liabilities — primarily due to changes in the fair value of derivative liabilities related to foreign exchange contracts , an increase in accrued income taxes related to the current portion of the transition tax related to the tax act and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in long-term debt — due to foreign currency fluctuations of euro-denominated bonds . increase in other liabilities — primarily due to an increase in accrued income taxes from the noncurrent portion of the transition tax related to the tax act , partially offset by a decrease in deferred income tax liabilities resulting from revaluation at the lower u.s. corporate rate required by the tax act . vf corporation 2017 form 10-k 29 liquidity and cash flows the financial condition of vf is reflected in the following : replace_table_token_12_th for the ratio of debt to total capital , debt is defined as short-term and long-term borrowings , and total capital is defined as debt plus stockholders ' equity . the increase in the debt to total capital ratio at december 2017 compared to 2016 was primarily due to the increase in short-term borrowings , partially offset by the decrease in total long-term debt , as discussed in “ balance sheets ” above . in addition , vf repurchased $ 1.2 billion of stock and paid $ 684.7 million in dividends in 2017 , which reduced stockholders ' equity by $ 1.9 billion . stockholder 's equity was also reduced by $ 237.8 million related to the cumulative-effect adjustment upon the early adoption of the accounting standards update regarding intra-entity asset transfers and the impact of the $ 465.5 million provisional net charge related to the tax act . vf 's primary source of liquidity is the strong annual cash flow provided by operating activities . cash from operations is typically lower in the first half of the year as inventory builds to support peak sales periods in the second half of the year . cash provided by operating activities in the second half of the year is substantially higher as inventories are sold and accounts receivable are collected . additionally , direct-to-consumer sales are highest in the fourth quarter of the year . in summary , our cash flows were as follows : replace_table_token_13_th the cash flows related to discontinued operations have not been segregated , and are included in the consolidated statements of cash flows . accordingly , the information in the table above and cash flow discussion below include the results of continuing and discontinued operations . cash provided by operating activities cash flow provided by operating activities is dependent on the level of net income , adjustments to net income and changes in working capital . cash provided by operating activities remained relatively flat as lower net income was offset by working capital changes primarily related to an increase in accrued income tax payable resulting from the tax act . cash provided by operating activities increased $ 277.0 million in 2016 primarily due to i ) a $ 250.0 million discretionary contribution to the u.s. qualified pension plan in

cash flow from operations was $ 1.5 billion in 2017 . earnings per share decreased 30 % to $ 1.79 in 2017 from $ 2.56 in 2016 , driven by the negative impact from the recent u.s. tax legislation , incremental transaction and deal-related costs and unfavorable impacts from foreign currency that were partially offset by contributions related to the williamson-dickie acquisition . vf increased the quarterly dividend rate by 10 % in the fourth quarter , marking the 45 th consecutive year of increase in the rate of dividends paid per share . vf repurchased $ 1.2 billion of its common stock and paid $ 684.7 million in cash dividends , returning approximately $ 1.9 billion to stockholders . analysis of results of operations consolidated statements of income the following table presents a summary of the changes in total revenues during the last two years : replace_table_token_3_th 2017 compared to 2016 vf reported a 7 % increase in revenues in 2017 . the 2017 results were driven by an increase in the outdoor & action sports coalition and continued strength in our direct-to-consumer and international businesses . the increase was also attributable to growth in the imagewear coalition , which included a $ 247.2 million contribution from the williamson-dickie acquisition , which closed on october 2 , 2017. these increases were offset by declines in the jeanswear coalition . international sales grew in every region in 2017 . 2016 compared to 2015 vf reported revenues in 2016 that were in line with 2015 revenues . the 2016 results were primarily attributable to a 2 % increase in the outdoor & action sports coalition and continued strength in the international and direct-to-consumer businesses , which offset foreign currency headwinds of 1 % and softness in our jeanswear and imagewear coalitions .


 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 flow from operations was $ 1.5 billion in 2017 . earnings per share decreased 30 % to $ 1.79 in 2017 from $ 2.56 in 2016 , driven by the negative impact from the recent u.s. tax legislation , incremental transaction and deal-related costs and unfavorable impacts from foreign currency that were partially offset by contributions related to the williamson-dickie acquisition . vf increased the quarterly dividend rate by 10 % in the fourth quarter , marking the 45 th consecutive year of increase in the rate of dividends paid per share . vf repurchased $ 1.2 billion of its common stock and paid $ 684.7 million in cash dividends , returning approximately $ 1.9 billion to stockholders . analysis of results of operations consolidated statements of income the following table presents a summary of the changes in total revenues during the last two years : replace_table_token_3_th 2017 compared to 2016 vf reported a 7 % increase in revenues in 2017 . the 2017 results were driven by an increase in the outdoor & action sports coalition and continued strength in our direct-to-consumer and international businesses . the increase was also attributable to growth in the imagewear coalition , which included a $ 247.2 million contribution from the williamson-dickie acquisition , which closed on october 2 , 2017. these increases were offset by declines in the jeanswear coalition . international sales grew in every region in 2017 . 2016 compared to 2015 vf reported revenues in 2016 that were in line with 2015 revenues . the 2016 results were primarily attributable to a 2 % increase in the outdoor & action sports coalition and continued strength in the international and direct-to-consumer businesses , which offset foreign currency headwinds of 1 % and softness in our jeanswear and imagewear coalitions .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : we continued reshaping our portfolio in 2017 to align with our financial aspirations , as we closed on the acquisition of williamson-dickie mfg . co. ( `` williamson-dickie `` ) in the fourth quarter of 2017 , and announced the acquisition of icebreaker holdings , ltd. , which we expect to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. further , we completed the sale of the licensing business in 2017 and have announced the planned sale of the nautica ® brand business . on december 22 , 2017 , the u.s. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the tax cuts and jobs act ( “ tax act ” ) . the tax act significantly changes u.s. corporate income tax laws by , among other things , reducing the u.s. corporate income tax rate to 21 % starting in 2018 and moves from a global taxation regime to a modified territorial regime . as part of the legislation , u.s. companies are required to pay a tax on historical earnings generated offshore that have not been repatriated to the u.s. and revalue deferred tax asset and liability positions at the lower federal base tax rate of 21 % . the transitional impact of the tax act resulted in a provisional net vf corporation 2017 form 10-k 21 charge of approximately of $ 465.5 million , or $ 1.15 cents per share , during the fourth quarter of 2017. the execution of our 2021 strategic choices , including the re-shaping of our portfolio , and significant changes to the u.s. corporate income tax laws , delivered the following results in 2017 : 2017 revenues were up 7 % to $ 11.8 billion compared to 2016 . outdoor & action sports coalition revenues increased 8 % over 2016 to $ 8.2 billion , including a 1 % favorable impact from foreign currency . direct-to-consumer revenues increased 17 % over 2016 , including a 1 % favorable impact from foreign currency , and accounted for 32 % of vf 's total revenues in 2017 . vf opened 111 retail stores in 2017 . e-commerce revenues increased 34 % in 2017 . international revenues increased 12 % , including a 1 % favorable impact from foreign currency , and represented 41 % of vf 's total revenues in 2017 . gross margin increased 120 basis points to 50.5 % in 2017 , reflecting benefits from pricing and a mix-shift toward higher margin businesses , partially offset by impacts from foreign currency . story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : din-regular , sans-serif ; font-size:9pt ; color : # 6d6e71 ; `` > foreign income and dividends and establishing a deferred tax liability for foreign withholding taxes . the 2017 effective income tax rate included a net discrete tax expense of $ 438.9 million , which included the provisional net charge of $ 465.5 million related to the tax act , $ 25.2 million of tax benefits related to stock compensation , $ 2.9 million of net tax benefit related to the realization of previously unrecognized tax benefits and interest , and $ 1.9 million of discrete tax expense related to the effects of tax rate changes , exclusive of the tax act . the $ 438.9 million net discrete tax expense in 2017 increased the effective income tax rate by 31.0 % compared to a favorable 3.4 % impact of discrete items in 2016. without discrete items , the effective tax rate during 2017 decreased by approximately 1.3 % primarily due to the negative tax impact related to the 2016 goodwill impairment . the international effective tax rate was 13.1 % and 10.9 % for 2017 and 2016 , respectively . as a result of the above , net income in 2017 was $ 0.7 billion ( $ 1.79 per diluted share ) , compared to $ 1.1 billion ( $ 2.56 per diluted share ) in 2016 . 2016 compared to 2015 in 2016 , gross margin improved 30 basis points , reflecting a 130 basis point benefit from pricing , lower product costs and a mix-shift toward higher margin businesses , which was partially offset by a 20 basis point impact from restructuring activities and a negative 80 basis point impact from foreign currency . selling , general and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenues increased 210 basis points compared to 2015 . this increase was primarily due to restructuring initiatives of $ 31.8 million , a pension settlement charge of $ 50.9 million , investments in our key growth priorities , which include direct-to-consumer , product innovation , demand creation and technology initiatives and the benefit of a $ 16.6 million gain on the sale of a vf outlet ® location in 2015. as a result of management 's decision to merge the lucy ® brand into the north face ® brand , vf recorded a $ 79.6 million noncash impairment charge to write-off the goodwill and intangible assets of the lucy ® reporting unit during the fourth quarter of 2016. for additional information , refer to notes g , h and u to the consolidated financial statements and the “ critical accounting policies and estimates ” section below . in 2016 , operating margin decreased 260 basis points , to 12.4 % from 15.0 % in 2015 . the decrease in operating margin reflects a 170 basis point decrease from goodwill and intangible asset impairment , restructuring , and pension settlement charges that did not occur in 2015 , a negative 60 basis point impact from changes in foreign currency and investments in our key growth priorities , which include direct-to-consumer , product innovation , demand creation and technology initiatives . story_separator_special_tag in the asia-pacific region , revenues increased 6 % primarily driven by strong growth across the region , particularly in china . revenues in the americas ( non-u.s. ) region grew 13 % , reflecting operational growth and a 1 % benefit from foreign currency . international revenues represented 41 % and 40 % of total vf revenues in 2017 and 2016 , respectively . direct-to-consumer operations direct-to-consumer revenues grew 17 % in 2017 compared to growth of 10 % in 2016 , reflecting growth in all regions and in nearly every brand with a retail format . foreign currency favorably impacted direct-to-consumer revenue growth by 1 % in 2017 and negatively impacted direct-to-consumer growth by 1 % in 2016. the increase in direct-to-consumer revenues in both periods was due to comparable store growth for locations open at least twelve months at each reporting date , and an expanding e-commerce business which grew 34 % and 23 % in 2017 and 2016 , respectively . vf opened 111 stores in 2017 , bringing the total number of vf-owned retail stores to 1,518 at december 2017 . direct-to-consumer revenues were 32 % of total vf revenues in 2017 compared to 29 % in 2016 . 28 vf corporation 2017 form 10-k analysis of financial condition balance sheets the williamson-dickie acquisition significantly impacted the december 2017 consolidated balance sheet . accordingly , the table below presents the december 2017 balance sheet accounts excluding the williamson-dickie balances at that date so that the remaining vf balances are comparable with the december 2016 balances . replace_table_token_11_th unless noted otherwise , the discussion that follows relates to vf 's businesses excluding the williamson-dickie balances at december 2017. the discussion refers to significant changes in balances at december 2017 compared to december 2016 : increase in accounts receivable — primarily due to higher wholesale shipments in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in inventories — driven by the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in intangible assets and goodwill — driven by the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . decrease in other assets — primarily due to the cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings of a deferred charge upon the early adoption of the accounting standards update regarding intra-entity asset transfers ; partially offset by an increase in net pension assets for certain defined benefit plans and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in short-term borrowings — due to the increase in commercial paper borrowings primarily related to the funding of the williamson-dickie acquisition . decrease in current portion of long-term debt — due to the repayment of $ 250.0 million of notes that matured during the year . increase in accounts payable — primarily due to the timing of inventory purchases and payments to vendors and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in accrued liabilities — primarily due to changes in the fair value of derivative liabilities related to foreign exchange contracts , an increase in accrued income taxes related to the current portion of the transition tax related to the tax act and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations . increase in long-term debt — due to foreign currency fluctuations of euro-denominated bonds . increase in other liabilities — primarily due to an increase in accrued income taxes from the noncurrent portion of the transition tax related to the tax act , partially offset by a decrease in deferred income tax liabilities resulting from revaluation at the lower u.s. corporate rate required by the tax act . vf corporation 2017 form 10-k 29 liquidity and cash flows the financial condition of vf is reflected in the following : replace_table_token_12_th for the ratio of debt to total capital , debt is defined as short-term and long-term borrowings , and total capital is defined as debt plus stockholders ' equity . the increase in the debt to total capital ratio at december 2017 compared to 2016 was primarily due to the increase in short-term borrowings , partially offset by the decrease in total long-term debt , as discussed in “ balance sheets ” above . in addition , vf repurchased $ 1.2 billion of stock and paid $ 684.7 million in dividends in 2017 , which reduced stockholders ' equity by $ 1.9 billion . stockholder 's equity was also reduced by $ 237.8 million related to the cumulative-effect adjustment upon the early adoption of the accounting standards update regarding intra-entity asset transfers and the impact of the $ 465.5 million provisional net charge related to the tax act . vf 's primary source of liquidity is the strong annual cash flow provided by operating activities . cash from operations is typically lower in the first half of the year as inventory builds to support peak sales periods in the second half of the year . cash provided by operating activities in the second half of the year is substantially higher as inventories are sold and accounts receivable are collected . additionally , direct-to-consumer sales are highest in the fourth quarter of the year . in summary , our cash flows were as follows : replace_table_token_13_th the cash flows related to discontinued operations have not been segregated , and are included in the consolidated statements of cash flows . accordingly , the information in the table above and cash flow discussion below include the results of continuing and discontinued operations . cash provided by operating activities cash flow provided by operating activities is dependent on the level of net income , adjustments to net income and changes in working capital . cash provided by operating activities remained relatively flat as lower net income was offset by working capital changes primarily related to an increase in accrued income tax payable resulting from the tax act . cash provided by operating activities increased $ 277.0 million in 2016 primarily due to i ) a $ 250.0 million discretionary contribution to the u.s. qualified pension plan in

