Leidos CEO: Company expects NGEN protest but has 'confidence that the protest will move quickly'

Leidos, which was awarded earlier this month the services portion of the Navy's Next Generation Enterprise Network, is bracing for a protest of the contract but is already working on transition plans.

During a presentation at a conference hosted by Cowen, Roger Krone said the company has started working on the program.

"We are under contract today so we have opened up charge numbers, if you will, we have staff, we're putting plans together, we're meeting with the customer," he said. "We will put in place all the transition plans; we'll get as much work done as we can."

However, he said Leidos anticipates a bid protest. Krone said he thinks the post-award debriefings will take place next week.

"Our expectation is end of this month, early next month we will know whether we're in protest or not," he said.

Still, Krone told analysts the company feels confident about surviving the protest process.

"As I read the award letter, we won by a significant amount," he said. "It would appear from the way I read the letter that we were a significantly better value than the next competitor."

"It gives us a little bit more confidence that the protest will move quickly through the [Government Accountability Office] process," Krone added.

He said Leidos has a "huge staffing challenge ahead of us on the program."