Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Yamaha Motor Co., the world’s second-largest motorcycle maker, said it will post its first net loss in 26 years as demand for its vehicles drops.

Yamaha’s loss of 42 billion yen ($466 million) compares with net income of 1.85 billion yen for the year ended Dec. 31, the company said in a Tokyo Stock Exchange statement today. It forecast an operating loss of 30 billion yen, compared with an operating profit of 48.4 billion yen last year.

The maker of Royal Star Venture motorcycles is losing customers in North America and Europe as rising unemployment forces people to spend less on leisure goods. The yen’s gains against foreign currencies have also eroded the value of overseas sales, prompting Yamaha to cut executive salaries by as much as 20 percent from February to December.

The company, which gets 90 percent of its revenue outside of Japan, was also hurt by the stronger yen. The yen gained 17 percent against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter, eroding the value of overseas sales.

Sales this year are forecast to plunge 22 percent to 1.25 trillion yen, Yamaha said in a statement today. The 2009 net loss will be the company’s first since the fiscal year ended March 1984, said spokeswoman Satoko Ogawa.

Yamaha fell 0.9 percent to 844 yen at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. The stock has dropped 58 percent in the past year.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Gunsalus in Tokyo at jgunsalus@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 12, 2009 04:08 EST