The Collingwood Football Club will release its annual report to members on Thursday, announcing an operating profit of $3,841,436.

Club revenue for the 2011 financial year grew to $75,592,030 which is up on 2010, a year which included two Grand Finals and the financial benefits of winning a premiership.

Collingwood delivered on its promise to supporters that the club will continue to aggressively invest its profits into the football program with a spend of $19,412,167, a total increase of $376,816 year on year.

One of the key strategic objectives presented to members at last year’s AGM was to provide long-term financial stability for the club by becoming debt free, which was achieved in 2011 when $3 million of debt was cleared. This was an important step for the club, as it prepares for a substantial redevelopment of the training and administration facilities at the Westpac Centre.

The Collingwood Football Club continues to be financially driven by the amazing support of its members, who rallied behind this year’s ‘March to October’ campaign. The Magpie Army created an all-time AFL club membership record of 72,728, including over 20,000 new members in 2011. The club’s members injected  $16,419,687 into their club, an increase of $4,650,284 on 2010.

As previously announced to supporters, The Beach Hotel has been sold on vendor finance terms for $1.7 million. The club has decided to impair this loan,  the effect of which is that the club will record a profit when payment is received from purchaser.

In reflecting The Beach Hotel impairment, the club will therefore record a profit for the 2011 financial year of $2,141,436.

Collingwood CEO Gary Pert said: “This is a great result for the club financially. While it’s nice to announce another solid profit for the year, the most critical factor is that the club is now debt free.

“All Collingwood supporters and members should feel very proud of the club they have helped create.”