Australia's steelmaking industry continue to struggle as the country's biggest player, BlueScope Steel, reported another half-year loss on Monday, showcasing anew the company's flagging fortunes over the past few years.

The latest net loss was pegged at $530 million for the last six months of 2011 and coming from the $55 million net loss the company registered in the same period in 2010.

BlueScope Steel managing director Paul O'Malley pointed to less than expected output and the soaring Australian dollar for the steelmaker's lower sales realised in the period, posting only $4.53 billion from the $4.6 billion recorded in the same period in the previous year.

An earnings loss of $182 million was also recorded in the coated and industrial products segment due to weak sales and rising costs in the domestic market.

The company revealed that from the 3.45 billion metric tonnes of raw steel produced in the first half of financial year 2010-2011, its output plunged to 2.66 billion metric tonnes in the last half ending in December 2011.

Yet amidst its production and financial woes, O'Malley is upbeat that ongoing internal reforms and adjustments will tide the company over the challenging periods ahead, with its underlying net loss likely to decrease by the second half of the current financial year.

BlueScope's latest figures also cover one-off restructuring costs that amounted to $260 million and impairment of deferred tax assets that totalled to $184 million in the period.

The company also recorded some $46 million as advance income under the Gillard Government's Steel Transformation Plan, O'Malley said.

In addition, BlueScope said the company collected $100 million from the federal government, which will serve as its buffer for projected losses once the country's carbon pricing program rolls fully by the mid-part of 2012.

Brushing aside its difficulties, BlueScope is projected to achieve a full-year working capital release of up to $500 million, O'Malley said.

The company is also expected to further reduce its debt, with up to $796 of net debt already served in the first half and a separate $759 debt payment since October of last year.

BlueScope's working capital reduction has already reached $357 million and another $370 million should be paid by the end of financial year 2011-2012, O'Malley said.

Total restructuring target still hovers at around $450 million, Bluescope said, with two Australian blast furnaces already closed down and some 1000 workers laid off as trading conditions in the past year forced the company to implement adjustments.

"Since the onset of the global financial crisis, BlueScope has acted to overcome the effects of poor global economic conditions and steel industry overcapacity and set the foundation for future business improvement," O'Malley was quoted by Reuters as saying in a statement.

"And the operational restructure, with associated plant closures in Australia, significantly reduces our exposure to the loss-making export market, which is a positive step in turning around the performance of the Australian business and lays the foundation for a return to profitability," he added.