UPDATE 1-Finnish Christmas sales beat expectations -industry

(Adds other European retailers)

HELSINKI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Finns spent more than expected on Christmas presents in 2007, the Federation of Finnish Commerce said on Friday, estimating the value of holiday shopping at around 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion).

The Federation had expected December sales to rise 4 to 5 percent year-on-year and Christmas shopping excluding cars to amount to 950 million euros, but said first indications showed retailers' turnover had turned out higher.

"I have heard from some big companies about how their sales succeeded ... now it seems that it was better and the increase may be around 6 to 7 percent," Matti Raisanen, an advisor at the Federation, told Reuters.

The trend contrasts with mixed results elsewhere in the European retail sector.

Department store sales in Germany surged in the week before Christmas after a modest start but were still slightly below exceptional 2006 levels, when they were boosted by a rush to buy before value added tax rose three points to 19 percent on Jan. 1, 2007.

In Britain, retailers generally continue to struggle, with consumer spending squeezed by higher mortgage rates and fuel prices, and a weaker housing market.

In France, December department stores sales were up 3 to 5 percent, and the UCV association of large city stores said on Thursday the trend gave grounds for optimisim. National statistics office data on Friday however, showed lower French consumer confidence for December.

At 1610 GMT, the DJ Stoxx index of European retailers .SXRP was down 3.2 percent.

Raisanen said high consumer confidence had boosted shopping in Finland, while wage deals settled during the last quarter had contributed to higher spending as well.

Finnish consumer confidence had been above the long-term average for over a year, before falling to average levels in December. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5 percent in 2006 and is estimated to have grown more than 4 percent in 2007.

Raisanen also said Finns received an additional 200 million euros in tax refunds in early December, which he expected were spent on Christmas presents and groceries as well.

In December, Finland's second-biggest retailer Stockmann (STCBV.HE) said it expected Christmas sales to rise in line with the company's growth of around 10 percent in previous months.

Kesko (KESBV.HE), the retail market leader, also said consumer confidence had boosted the Christmas shopping mood.

Both Kesko and Stockmann are expected to report their trading figures for the Christmas period in the next two weeks. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by David Holmes/Rory Channing)