Did you know that Triumph->ke1864 didn’t sell more than 50,000 bikes in a year since 1984 until it sold 52,089 units in 2013? It’s true, which is why many in the industry are considering the 2014 financial year ending in June 2014 as another banner year for the British bike maker. Why, you ask? Well, for the second year in a row - and only the third time since 1984 - Triumph has broken the 50,000 sold units benchmark. More importantly, the company’s 2014 sales numbers - 54,432 units sold worldwide - represented an increase of four percent over its 2013 numbers.

Triumph’s successful 2014 was mostly evident in the UK, which the brand considers as its home market. For the year, Triumph accounted for 20 percent of bikes sold that's classified over 500 cc. The company also saw an eight-percent growth in sales volume in the UK. That’s a nice percentage, but probably not nice enough considering that the entire market in the UK saw motorcycle sales increase by about 10 percent compared to its 2013 figures.

If sales are the sole basis of a bike maker’s success, then Triumph came out, well, triumphant in that regard. But it’s not, which is to say that the company's financial report for the year also had its down spots. The most glaring financial figure for Triumph was its overall performance in the 2014 financial year, where it reported a modest drop in revenue from £369 million ($560 million) in 2013 to £364 million ($552 million) last year to go with an £8 million ($12.1 million) loss of net income.

Despite the small drop in revenue, Triumph still managed to perform strongly against a backdrop of economic and motorcycle market conditions. It’s going to be interesting to see how the company did in the second half of 2014, but all signs seem to point to healthy sales gains for the company, even if its revenue skews the number towards the an average performing year.

Click past the jump to read more about Triumph's huge 2014 sales numbers.

Why it matters

The mechanics of business is something that I'm not particularly efficient in, but I do know that a boost in sales numbers usually means good things for a company. The drop in revenue is another matter entirely, but that can be fixed if Triumph can get its books in order.

That said, the British bike maker is in a unique position because of its existing sales and marketing strategies. Triumph is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer and it currently has 1,600 employees to its name.

The company is also heavily invested in production sites in Brazil and India, which goes to show how expansive the company's reach is throughout the world. Hopefully, Triumph can right its business dealings in time to reverse the drop in revenues.

It would be a shame to post these record sales figures and still be in the red to show for these efforts.