Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. expects to have returned to profit in the first six months of 2023, finally emerging from the most damaging period in its 76-year history and raising the likelihood it will post its first annual profit since 2019.

“The Cathay Group has seen a strong rebound in the performance of our airlines,” Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said in a statement Friday.

Cathay posted a run of record losses as Covid caused unprecedented damage to an airline already bruised by anti-government protests and unrest in Hong Kong.

Now it is benefiting from elevated ticket prices and strong demand for travel in the wake of the pandemic, and rushing to rebuild staffing ranks and services to cater to the influx of customers. Even so, Cathay has said it doesn’t expect passenger capacity to return to pre-Covid levels until the end of next year.

Hong Kong’s main airline said cash-flow has improved, after turning cash generative. Its figures will be boosted by a one-off gain of about HK$1.9 billion ($243 million) following a trimming of its Air China Ltd. stake to 16.26% from 18.13%.

Its loss in the six months ending June 2022 was HK$5.3 billion.