In the heap of Toyota’s recalls, Ford announced today that it earned a $2.7 billion profit for 2009, its first profit in four years. The announcement is made more significant because it came in one of the worst years in the history of the automotive industry.

“While we still face significant business environment challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford and the strongest proof yet that our One Ford plan is working and that we are forging a path toward profitable growth by working together as one team, leveraging our global scale,” Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.

Not only is this news a welcomed surprise but Ford expects to keep the momentum up, predicting similar results for 2010. The company will raise its first quarter production levels in North America by 20,000 units, from 550,000 to 570,000. This will help it meet rising demand for its cars and trucks and keep inventory inventory levels at industry standards.

It’s often difficult to gauge from an annual earnings figure just how much cash a company generated for any given year (you’ll have to read through their financial statements for the details), but Ford said it finished the year with $25.5 billion in automotive gross cash and $34.3 billion in automotive debt.

PRESS RELEASE:

FORD POSTS FULL YEAR PROFIT FOR 2009; FOURTH QUARTER 2009 NET INCOME OF $868 MILLION; PLANS TO BE PROFITABLE IN 2010+

* Full year net income of $2.7 billion, or 86 cents per share, a $17.5 billion improvement from a year ago. Pre-tax operating profits of $454 million, a $7.3 billion improvement from a year ago++

* Fourth quarter net income of $868 million, or 25 cents per share, a $6.8 billion improvement from a year ago. Pre-tax operating profits of $1.8 billion, a $5.5 billion improvement from a year ago++

* Ford North America fourth quarter pre-tax operating profits of $707 million, a $2.6 billion improvement from a year ago++

* Reduced Automotive structural costs by $500 million compared with the fourth quarter 2008, bringing the total 2009 reduction to $5.1 billion, exceeding the target of about $4 billion

* Strong products drove full year market share gains in North America, South America and Europe as well as continued improvements in transaction prices and margins

* Ended the year with $25.5 billion of Automotive gross cash and $34.3 billion in Automotive debt

* Achieved positive Automotive operating-related cash flow of $3.1 billion for the fourth quarter. Full year Automotive operating-related cash outflow was $300 million, a $19.2 billion improvement over 2008

* Ford Credit fourth quarter pre-tax operating profits of $696 million, a $1.1 billion improvement from a year ago

* For full year 2010, Ford plans to be profitable on a pre-tax basis excluding special items, for North America, total Automotive and total company, with positive Automotive operating-related cash flow, based on its assumptions