FORT COLLINS — Advanced Energy Industries is hoping for better years ahead as it moves forward with a massive restructuring that has meant layoffs and outsourcing of some operations.

Based on company projections of at least 20 percent growth in its solar division, Fort Collins’ Advanced Energy believes its earnings per share will rise by $1.90 to $2.10 in 2014.

The projections – a sharp contrast to consistently lower earnings in recent quarters – were part of a presentation made by Chief Financial Officer Danny Heron at an investor conference in Boston earlier this month.

“The solar market in the North American geography is doing really, really well,” Heron said in a telephone interview. “There are lots of developers out there putting in cost-efficient solar parts.”

Competition, however, is intense in the field, and American manufacturers have had a tough time battling it out against rivals here and abroad.

Advance Energy’s forecast comes as the company presses ahead with a restructuring that began in the fall. That effort has included outsourcing manufacturing of its solar subassemblies from Fort Collins to Shenzhen, China. The