# MERF Inc.: business model and financials

> Latest period: FY ending Aug 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP
> Unit: JPY millions
> Sources: 訂正有価証券報告書－第40期(2024/09/01－2025/08/31) (S100YQFO)
> Page: https://vizora.meequs.com/en/company/merf
> Retrieved: 2026-09-30T20:58:36.134Z

## Company

Merf, founded in 1985, is a company in Non-ferrous Metals & Wires listed on TSE Standard. It has 154 employees (consolidated).

| Field | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Legal name | MERF Inc. (旧英訳名 Kurotani Corporation) |
| Ticker | 3168 |
| Stock price | View on Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.co.jp/quote/3168.T) |
| Listing | TSE Standard |
| Head office | 富山県射水市奈呉の江12番地の2 |
| Representative (per filing) | 代表取締役社長 黒谷 暁 |
| Founded | Nov 1985 |
| Share capital | ¥1B |
| Employees (consolidated) | 154 |
| Average salary (parent only) | ¥6M |
| Fiscal year end | August |
| Website | www.merf.co.jp (https://www.merf.co.jp/) |
| Corporate number | 3230001012407 |
| EDINET | E25443 |
| Industries (Vizora) | Non-ferrous Metals & Wires, Waste Management & Recycling |

> Profile source: annual securities report (S100YQFO, filed 2026-07-14). As of filing

## Five-axis industry profile

Primary industry: Waste Management & Recycling (2025-08-31)

| Axis | Industry percentile | Peers |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue growth | 81.3 | 24 |
| Profitability | 2 | 25 |
| Cash conversion | 98 | 25 |
| Efficiency | 94 | 25 |

Each axis is shown independently. Missing values are labeled unavailable; no combined score is calculated. Industry rank is not an investment recommendation.

## Key points (generated from figures)

- About 99% of Merf's sales come from NONFERROUS METALS, with ARTS AND CRAFTS making up much of the rest.
- Operating profit was close to zero, a slight profit per ¥100 of sales.
- Revenue changed +0.5% from the prior year, operating profit -91.9%.

## Key figures at a glance

| Metric | Value | Note |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | ¥82.5B |  |
| Operating income | ¥117.1M | Margin 0.1% |
| Net income | -¥203.1M | Margin -0.2% |
| Free cash flow | ¥1.55B |  |
| Largest business | NONFERROUS METALS | of segment revenue 99.3% |
| Employees (consolidated) | 154 |  |
| EPS | ¥-12.6 |  |
| Book value per share | ¥642.16 |  |
| Equity ratio | 35.9% |  |
| Shares outstanding | 14,337,200 |  |
| Treasury shares | 200,000 |  |
| Shareholders | 15,092 |  |
| Average salary (parent only) | ¥6M | Filing company only |
| Cash ratio | 6.4% | Cash ÷ revenue 2.0% |
| Vs. industry median margin | -5.5 pp | Non-ferrous Metals & Wires |
| ROA | -0.8% | Derived from disclosed figures |

## Notable figures

- FY2025, one segment accounts for 88% of positive segment profit
- FY2025, segment profit share differs by -87 points

## What changed in 5 years

| Metric | FY ending Aug 2020 | FY ending Aug 2025 | Change |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | ¥42752780000 | ¥82463458000 | +92.9% |
| Operating income | ¥646824000 | ¥117094000 | -81.9% |
| Operating margin | 1.5% | 0.1% | -1.4 pp |
| Employees | 123 people | 154 people | +25.2% |
| Cash and equivalents | ¥1433274000 | ¥1637668000 | +14.3% |

### Change in segment revenue mix

Span: FY ending Aug 2020 → FY ending Aug 2025. Stable segment keys are connected; unmatched shares are marked as new or reorganized. Shares use total segment revenue.

| Flow | Revenue share |
| --- | ---: |
| 非鉄金属 → 非鉄金属 | 99.3% |
| 美術工芸 → 美術工芸 | 0.7% |
| 美術工芸 → 事業再編・廃止 | 0.0% |
| 新設・再編 → 非鉄金属 | 0.0% |

Segment revenue source references: 4 (derived)

## Income statement（FY ending Aug 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP）

| Item | Amount (JPY mn) | % of revenue | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 82,463 | 100.0% | S100YQFO |
| Cost of revenue | 80,130 | 97.2% | S100YQFO |
| Gross profit | 2,333 | 2.8% | S100YQFO |
| SG&A | 2,216 | 2.7% | S100YQFO |
| Operating income | 117 | 0.1% | S100YQFO |
| Ordinary income | -220 | -0.3% | S100YQFO |
| Pretax income | -217 | -0.3% | S100YQFO |
| Income tax | -14 | -0.0% | S100YQFO |
| Net income | -203 | -0.2% | S100YQFO |
| Net income attributable to owners | -203 | -0.2% | S100YQFO |

## Per ¥100 of revenue（FY ending Aug 2025）

| Part | JPY |
| --- | ---: |
| Cost of revenue | 97 |
| SG&A | 3 |
| Operating income | 0 |
| (Ref.) Net income | 0 |

### Margin funnel

Gross margin 2.8% → Operating margin 0.1% → Net margin -0.2%
Derived from reported figures (DERIVED).

## Revenue and profit pattern

Pattern: Revenue up, profit down
Revenue growth: +0.5%; Core profit growth: -91.9%
Growth quality: revenue-led
Operating leverage (core profit growth ÷ revenue growth): -191.82×
Calculated from comparable annual consolidated filings.

## Year over year（FY ending Aug 2024 → FY ending Aug 2025、JPY mn）

| Metric | Prior | Current | Change | % change |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 82,070 | 82,463 | 393 | +0.5% |
| Gross profit | 3,121 | 2,333 | -788 | -25.2% |
| Operating income | 1,450 | 117 | -1,333 | -91.9% |
| Net income attributable to owners | 533 | -203 | -736 | -138.1% |
| Operating cash flow | 828 | 2,323 | 1,495 | +180.5% |
| Free cash flow | 540 | 1,555 | 1,015 | +187.9% |

## History（JPY mn）

| Period | Revenue | Op. income | Op. margin | Net income | Op. CF | FCF | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| FY ending Aug 2019 | 50,670 | -245 | -0.5% | -231 | -49 | -443 | S100K8TS |
| FY ending Aug 2020 | 42,753 | 647 | 1.5% | 378 | 1,500 | 1,359 | S100MX84 |
| FY ending Aug 2021 | 62,058 | 3,197 | 5.2% | 1,354 | -3,903 | -4,112 | S100POMC |
| FY ending Aug 2022 | 89,103 | 862 | 1.0% | 547 | -2,068 | -2,296 | S100SBRL |
| FY ending Aug 2023 | 84,594 | 533 | 0.6% | 170 | 1,598 | 1,248 | S100UTRL |
| FY ending Aug 2024 | 82,070 | 1,450 | 1.8% | 533 | 828 | 540 | S100YQFO |
| FY ending Aug 2025 | 82,463 | 117 | 0.1% | -203 | 2,323 | 1,555 | S100YQFO |

## People and productivity（FY ending Aug 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP）

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Revenue per employee (consolidated) | ¥535.5M |
| Operating income per employee (consolidated) | ¥760.4K |
| Net income per employee (consolidated) | -¥1.3M |

Employees, revenue and profit are consolidated. Average annual salary is a separate parent-company figure. Calculated from disclosed figures (DERIVED).

| History | FY ending Aug 2021 | FY ending Aug 2022 | FY ending Aug 2023 | FY ending Aug 2024 | FY ending Aug 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Employees (consolidated) | 128 | 129 | 117 | 126 | 154 |
| Average salary (parent company) | ¥5.2M | ¥5.7M | ¥5.5M | ¥6.1M | ¥6M |
| Average age (parent company) | 42.0 years | 43.2 years | 44.8 years | 45.3 years | 44.6 years |
| Average tenure (parent company) | 13.3 years | 13.7 years | 14.5 years | 12.8 years | 15.3 years |

Year over year: Employees (consolidated) +22.2% · Revenue (consolidated) +0.5%

## Segments（FY ending Aug 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP、JPY mn）

| Segment | Revenue | Share | Op. income | Op. margin |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| NONFERROUS METALS | 81,905 | 99.3% | 14 | 0.0% |
| ARTS AND CRAFTS | 558 | 0.7% | 103 | 18.4% |

### segmentMix — Revenue and profit mix

Calculated from disclosed figures (DERIVED). Shares use total segment revenue and total positive segment profit respectively. Difference = profit share − revenue share (pt). Inter-segment sales may prevent reconciliation to company revenue.

| Segment | Revenue share | Profit share | Difference (pt) | Margin |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| NONFERROUS METALS | 99.3% | 12.4% | -87.0 | 0.0% |
| ARTS AND CRAFTS | 0.7% | 87.6% | 87.0 | 18.4% |

Segment → industry: NONFERROUS METALS → Non-ferrous Metals & Wires / NONFERROUS METALS → Waste Management & Recycling

## Revenue by geography

No geographic revenue breakdown was disclosed.

## Cash flow（FY ending Aug 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP）

| Item | Amount (JPY mn) | % of revenue | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Operating cash flow | 2,323 | 2.8% | S100YQFO |
| Capital expenditure | 768 | 0.9% | S100YQFO |
| Free cash flow | 1,555 | 1.9% | 算出 |
| Investing cash flow | -1,981 | -2.4% | S100YQFO |
| Financing cash flow | -30 | -0.0% | S100YQFO |
| Dividends paid | 283 | 0.3% | S100YQFO |
| Change in cash | 104 | 0.1% | S100YQFO |
| Cash and equivalents | 1,638 | 2.0% | S100YQFO |

## Balance sheet

Figures are as of each fiscal year end. Derived values are marked as such in the source column. Lease liabilities are excluded from interest-bearing debt.

| Metric | FY ending Aug 2021 | FY ending Aug 2022 | FY ending Aug 2023 | FY ending Aug 2024 | FY ending Aug 2025 | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Cash and equivalents | 1,401 | 770 | 1,062 | 1,534 | 1,638 | S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Total assets | 23,641 | 25,725 | 25,068 | 26,612 | 25,705 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Net assets | 8,681 | 9,219 | 9,097 | 9,483 | 9,218 | S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Share capital | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Trade receivables | 8,571 | — | — | — | — | S100POMC |
| Property, plant and equipment | 2,283 | 2,434 | 2,459 | 2,566 | 3,315 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Intangible assets excluding goodwill | 33 | 51 | 39 | 45 | 122 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Investment securities | 577 | 709 | 654 | 481 | 850 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Current assets | 20,619 | 22,489 | 21,856 | 23,421 | 21,212 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Current liabilities | 12,450 | 13,962 | 13,773 | 14,901 | 12,328 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Trade payables | 1,897 | 1,916 | 2,290 | 2,953 | 2,013 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Short-term borrowings | 7,779 | 9,909 | 9,500 | 9,400 | 7,700 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Long-term borrowings | 2,388 | 2,418 | 2,071 | 2,108 | 3,582 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Total liabilities | 14,959 | 16,507 | 15,971 | 17,129 | 16,487 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Equity attributable to owners of parent | 8,612 | 8,929 | 8,744 | 9,006 | 8,531 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Retained earnings | 6,988 | 7,286 | 7,173 | 7,423 | 6,937 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |
| Treasury stock | -66 | -53 | -126 | -115 | -105 | S100POMC, S100SBRL, S100UTRL, S100YQFO |

### Assets and funding mix

| Assets | Share | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Cash | 6% | S100YQFO |
| Property, plant and equipment | 13% | S100YQFO |
| Intangibles and goodwill | 1% | S100YQFO |
| Investment securities | 3% | S100YQFO |
| Other assets | 77% | S100YQFO |

| Funding source | Share | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Trade payables | 8% | S100YQFO |
| Other liabilities | 56% | S100YQFO |
| Equity | 36% | S100YQFO |
| Other liabilities | 0% | S100YQFO |

### Balance sheet history

| Metric | FY ending Aug 2021 | FY ending Aug 2022 | FY ending Aug 2023 | FY ending Aug 2024 | FY ending Aug 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Total assets | 23,641 | 25,725 | 25,068 | 26,612 | 25,705 |
| Equity | 8,681 | 9,219 | 9,097 | 9,483 | 9,218 |
| Interest-bearing debt | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cash | 1,401 | 770 | 1,062 | 1,534 | 1,638 |

## Asset intensity and goodwill

Ratios are derived from reported values. Goodwill is used only when separately reported, never inferred from combined intangible assets.

| Metric | Value | Sources |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Asset intensity (fixed assets ÷ revenue) | 4.0% | S100YQFO |
| Fixed assets ÷ total assets | 12.9% | S100YQFO |
| Goodwill ÷ parent equity | — | —, S100YQFO |

### Cash quality

Net cash = cash − interest-bearing debt. Net debt ratio = (interest-bearing debt − cash) ÷ positive operating cash flow. Omit when debt components are incomplete; other ratios are derived from reported figures.

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Cash ratio (cash ÷ total assets) | 6.4% |
| Cash ÷ revenue | 2.0% |
| Net cash (cash − interest-bearing debt) | — |
| Net debt ÷ operating cash flow | — |
| Cash conversion (operating CF ÷ operating income) | 1983.8% |
| Cash vs. profit gap | 2,526 JPY mn |
| Shareholder returns / net income | — |
| Shareholder returns / FCF | — |
| Shareholder payments — dividends / net income | — |
| Shareholder payments — dividends / FCF | 18.2% |
| CapEx intensity (capex ÷ revenue) | 0.9% |
| Investing CF relative to operating CF | 85.3% |

## ROA and ROE

ROE is decomposed into net margin × asset turnover × financial leverage. Leverage can raise ROE, so the ratio alone does not assess a company's condition. Ending balances are used without a prior year; total equity approximates parent equity when unavailable.

| Period | Net margin | Asset turnover | ROA | Financial leverage | ROE | Sources |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 2021 | 2.2% | 2.63× | 5.7% | 2.74× | 15.7% | S100POMC |
| 2022 | 0.6% | 3.61× | 2.2% | 2.81× | 6.2% | S100SBRL |
| 2023 | 0.2% | 3.33× | 0.7% | 2.87× | 1.9% | S100UTRL |
| 2024 | 0.6% | 3.18× | 2.1% | 2.91× | 6.0% | S100YQFO |
| 2025 | — | —× | -0.8% | —× | — | S100YQFO |

## Ownership

| Counterparty | Relation | Ratio | As of |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 株式会社黒谷商店 | Major shareholder | 40.0% | 2025-08-31 |
| 黒谷 純久 | Major shareholder | 21.4% | 2025-08-31 |
| 株式会社ＳＭＣ | Major shareholder | 2.8% | 2025-08-31 |
| 黒谷 暁 | Major shareholder | 1.6% | 2025-08-31 |
| 黒谷 昌輝 | Major shareholder | 1.4% | 2025-08-31 |
| 株式会社北陸銀行 | Major shareholder | 1.0% | 2025-08-31 |
| 株式会社MERF従業員持株会 | Major shareholder | 0.9% | 2025-08-31 |
| 黒谷 春美 | Major shareholder | 0.9% | 2025-08-31 |
| 井上 哲 | Major shareholder | 0.5% | 2025-08-31 |
| 株式会社ＨＡＲＩＴＡ | Major shareholder | 0.4% | 2025-08-31 |

## Sources

| Document | ID | Published | URL |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 訂正有価証券報告書－第40期(2024/09/01－2025/08/31) | S100YQFO | 2026-07-14 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100YQFO,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第39期(2023/09/01－2024/08/31) | S100UTRL | 2024-11-21 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100UTRL,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第38期(2022/09/01－2023/08/31) | S100SBRL | 2023-11-22 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100SBRL,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第37期(令和3年9月1日－令和4年8月31日) | S100POMC | 2022-11-25 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100POMC,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第36期(令和2年9月1日－令和3年8月31日) | S100MX84 | 2021-11-25 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100MX84,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第35期(令和1年9月1日－令和2年8月31日) | S100K8TS | 2020-11-26 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100K8TS,, |

## Definitions

- Amounts are in millions of JPY (rounded). The period is stated in each table heading
- Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Net income is attributable to owners of the parent when disclosed
- Free cash flow (FCF) = operating cash flow − capital expenditure
- ¥100 model = breakdown per ¥100 of revenue (rounded so parts sum to 100)
- Segment revenues include inter-segment sales and may not sum to consolidated revenue
- Source IDs are EDINET document IDs (docID). "算出" (derived) means computed from other disclosed values
- All figures are extracted mechanically from filings. AI-written text never generates figures
- Source: company filings submitted to EDINET (Financial Services Agency of Japan). Figures were extracted, edited and processed, and charts and text were created, by Vizora — not by the FSA (used under the Public Data License v1.0).