Retiring Sydney AFL club chairman Richard Colless has signed off early after announcing a profit of $646,745 for the 2013 financial year.

Colless, who announced in May he would not seek re-election after 20 years on the board, opted to stand down at Thursday’s December board meeting rather than the February AGM as previously advised.

And he departed with a bullish summary as the Swans look ahead to 2014 in the wake of their extraordinary nine-year deal to secure high profile full forward Lance Franklin.

He said the club was hopeful it would achieve a number of sellout games in the upgraded SCG next season, with redevelopment of the Noble, Bradman and Messenger Stands to greatly enhance the game-day experience.

Colless lauded the Swans’ 2013 campaign, reaching a preliminary final despite the highest number of injuries they’d had in a decade, with many games played with almost half the 2012 premiership team not playing.

“I am really pleased we managed to grow our membership to over 36,000 off the back of our premiership year in 2012 as we welcomed over 10,000 new members to the club,” said Colless.

“We are targeting over 40,000 members in 2014.

“It has been an honour for me to serve this great club for over 20 years and there are simply too many highlights to mention.

“I wish incoming chairman Andrew Pridham all the best for the future and I am sure he will do an outstanding job.

“Finally, I want to stress that ownership of this great club remains in the hands of our members and supporters who, unlike shareholders in public companies, basically invest emotion, passion and time which is the foundation upon which our culture is built.”