Superdry have issued a warning that profits will be lower than expectation when it presents its full-year results in July.

However, founder Julian Dunkerton - who returned to the company after a bitter leadership battle last month - said that the company is now "heading in the right direction."

In a trading update for 13 weeks to April 27 released to the London Stock Exchange this morning, Superdry said that weak performances in wholesale and ecommerce had led to the warning.

However, Dunkerton said that despite the warning he was "excited to back in the business" in his role as interim chief executive.

He said: There's a lot to do, but after five weeks, I am more confident than ever that we can restore Superdry to being the design led business with strong brand identity I know it can be.

"My first priority has been to stabilise the situation, and all of us in the business are putting all our energy into getting the product ranges right and improving the Ecommerce proposition, which are two important steps towards addressing Superdry's recent weak performance.

"The impact of the changes we are making will take time to come through in the numbers but I'm confident we are heading in the right direction."

Superdry had previously advised that profits would be in the range of £54.1 to £59.4 but have now revised that in a statement released to the London Stock Exchange.

It said: Primarily as a result of the weak Wholesale and Ecommerce performance, along with other measures to deliver the new operational strategy, we now expect FY19 underlying profit before tax to be lower than the current range of market expectations."

Dunkerton started Superdry on a Cheltenham market stall and turned it into a billion pound company before standing down from the board last year.

Then, following a series of disagreements with the management he pushed for an EGM to vote himself back on to the board this year - a vote he won by less than one percentage point.

As he returned, chairman Peter Bamford and chief executive Euan Sutherland resigned, with Dunkerton taking on the role of interim CEO and Peter Williams becoming chairman.

Williams has vast industry experience following spells with Selfridges and Boohoo and said he is confident that Dunkerton's design-led and brand identity ideas will herald a turnaround in fortunes.

He said: "I'm delighted to have joined Superdry. This is a fantastic British brand, and I firmly believe that with the plans Julian is putting in place it will be a great success story once again.

"Today's statement shows the scale of the challenge ahead of us.

"The Company's financial performance won't be turned around overnight, but we know what we need to do, and we are wasting no time in addressing the challenges which the business faces.

"This includes ensuring the correct corporate governance structure and Board is in place to guide the business going forward.

"I believe that we are doing the right things to get the business back on top form and delivering long-term sustainable growth for shareholders."