Japanese motorcycle company Yamaha->ke301 has reported an increase in sales by 5.3 percent on the strength of increased sales in developed markets. According to data released by the company, Yamaha’s overall sales for 2014 actually declined by 3.4 percent from 5.65 million bikes to just 5.39 million this year. So how did the company increase its sales revenue?

Apparently, the volume of bikes it sold in developed markets like North America and Europe increased from 370,000 units in 2013 to 414,000 units a year later, an impressive increase of 13 percent. In the US, Yamaha reported selling 79,000 motorcycles, a small increase from the 76,000 units it sold the previous year. The company’s European sales also shot up, improving from 162,000 sold units in 2013 to 191,000 last year.

Since prices for bikes in these markets are relatively higher than they are in developing countries, Yamaha ended up posting net sales in excess of ¥977.6 billion, or close to $8.22 billion based on current exchange rates, better than its 2013 numbers when net sales came out at ¥928.2 billion.

Coinciding with the increase in sold volume in developed countries, Yamaha also reported that revenue from the same markets increased by 21.9 percent, thanks in large part to the arrival of models like the FZ-09 and the FZ-07.

Overall, Yamaha reported a net profit of ¥68.5 billion in 2014, again representing a significant improvement from the year before when profit was at ¥44.1 billion.

Click past the jump to read more about Yamaha's fiscal results from 2014.

Why it matters

Yamaha is considered one of the biggest bike manufacturers in the world. Its sales numbers are a pretty clear indication of that. Consider that KTM and Ducati reported record sales numbers in 2014 and yet, the total number of bikes both companies sold that year still represents a little over five percent of the number of bikes Yamaha sold in the same time period.

That’s how big Yamaha is compared to other motorcycle brands. Then again, that’s the payoff of being one of the most accessible brands in the business. Yamaha sells its bikes all over the world, specifically in Asia and other emerging markets, which accounts for almost its entire sales volume.

Developed markets like North America, Europe, and even its home market of Japan make up a small percentage of the sales volume, but with prices for these bikes in these places much higher than they are in emerging markets, the lack of volume is offset by the higher prices. I know it sounds a little complicated, but it really isn’t if you think about it.

Moving forward, the Japanese motorcycle brand expects 2015 to be an even bigger year with expectations to sell 6.28 motorcycles, including almost 500,000 units in developed markets. Should that happen, the company could be in the process of receiving over ¥1 trillion in net sales with developed markets accounting for ¥240 billion of that number.