Shares in George Economou-backed Ocean Rig surged today, moving in the opposite direction as the Greek mogul's DryShips.

The New York-listed drillship and rig owner saw its shares jump 22.7% to close the day at $2.22.

That came after Ocean Rig reported better-than-expected net income of $288m during the first quarter, up from $41.1m a year earlier.

DryShips chief executive George Economou

Without non-cash gains associated with the drilling contractor's purchase of its own senior notes, earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17