Selling, general and administrative. SG&A expense for the nine months ended March 31, 2020 was lower than the prior comparable period due to lower sales commissions and marketing expenses, partially offset by higher employee compensation expense.
Research and development. The increase in R&D expense during the nine months ended March 31, 2020 from the same prior-year period reflected increased expenses in our Security division primarily to support new product development.
Impairment, restructuring and other charges (benefit). In the first nine months of fiscal year 2020, we incurred impairment, restructuring and other charges, net of $3.3 million related to the exit of a product line in our Healthcare division, $1.6 million of employee termination and facility closure costs and $0.3 million of acquisition costs, which were offset by a net recovery of $3.7 million for certain legal costs through insurance reimbursements. In the first nine months of fiscal 2019, we incurred restructuring and other charges of $3.7 million related to employee termination and business exit costs and $0.3 million in acquisition costs, which were partially offset by a $2.8 million net recovery of certain legal costs as a result of insurance reimbursements.
Other Income and Expenses
Interest and other expense, net. For the nine months ended March 31, 2020, interest and other expense, net was $14.3 million as compared to $16.5 million in the comparable prior-year period. This decrease was driven primarily by lower average levels of borrowing under our revolving credit facility as well as a lower average interest rates during the nine months ended March 31, 2020 compared to the same period in the prior year. Interest expense in the current-year period included $6.6 million of non-cash interest expense largely related to the Notes (see Note 6 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion) compared to $5.8 million during the comparable prior-year period.
Income taxes. For the nine months ended March 31, 2020, we recognized a provision for income taxes of $5.8 million compared to $15.4 million for the comparable prior-year period. The effective tax rate for the nine months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020 was 24.2% and 8.7%, respectively. During the nine months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020, we recognized discrete tax benefits of $2.6 million and $12.0 million, respectively, primarily for equity-based compensation under ASU 2016-09 in each period and a return to provision true-up adjustment in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020. Excluding the net impact of these discrete tax benefits, our effective tax rate for the nine months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020 was 28.4% and 26.7%, respectively.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our principal sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents, cash generated from operations and our credit facility. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $101.0 million as of March 31, 2020, a increase of $4.7 million, or 4.9%, from $96.3 million as of June 30, 2019. During the nine months ended March 31, 2020, we generated $105.6 million of cash flow from operations. We currently anticipate that our available funds, cash flow from operations and credit facilities will be sufficient to meet our operational cash needs for the next 12 months and the foreseeable future.
Our current revolving credit facility allows us to borrow up to $535 million and matures in April 2024. As of March 31, 2020, there was $95.0 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility and $48.1 million outstanding under the letters-of-credit sub-facility.
Cash Provided by Operating Activities. Cash flows from operating activities can fluctuate significantly from period to period, as net income, adjusted for non-cash items, and working capital fluctuations impact cash flows. During the nine months ended March 31, 2020, we generated $105.6 million of cash from operations compared to $87.7 million in the same prior-year period. The increase in operating cash flow was driven by higher net income and an improvement in working capital
Cash Used in Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was $28.3 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2020 compared to $40.8 million used for the nine months ended March 31, 2019. During the nine months ended March 31, 2020, we used cash of $16.1 million for capital expenditures, $3.5 million primarily for the acquisition of an optoelectronics business and $8.8 million for the acquisition of intangible and other assets. During the nine months ended March 31, 2019, we used cash of $20.9 million for capital expenditures, $17.5 million for the acquisition of an optoelectronics business and $0.8 million for the acquisition of a Security services business.
Cash Used in Financing Activities. Net cash used in financing activities was $68.5 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2020 compared to $23.3 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2019. During the nine months ended March 31, 2020, our primary uses in financing were $78.5 million for repurchases of our common stock and tax payments related to net share settlements of equity awards, partially offset by $7.0 million of net borrowings on our revolving credit facility and $8.4 million of proceeds from exercise of stock options and the employee stock purchase plan. During the nine months ended March 31, 2019, our primary uses of financing