A huge writedown on the sale of two underperforming hotels has turned what would have been a record profit into a loss of more than $3 million for AFL club Collingwood.

The writedown of $5.8 million over the impending sale of the Beach Hotel and Diamond Creek Tavern means what would have been a $2.5 million profit is instead a $3.3 million loss.

But Magpies chief executive Gary Pert said the club had cash reserves to cover the loss, meaning they would not go into debt and would not have to cut back on football spending next year.

"The critical thing in this is we'll be in a position to do all the things we were planning to do to develop the Lexus Centre and the football department," Pert said.

He said revenue from membership, events and sponsorship was at record levels, meaning the club was forecasting a profit of $2-2.5 million next year despite the global financial crisis.

"All clubs are going to be running very tightly and efficiently next year," Pert said.

"But even within that, the football club, as separate from the venue operations, would have produced a profit of close to $4 million this year."

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